Bihar Governor orders to hold population census to update NPR 2021

Bihar Governor Phagu Chauhan on Sunday ordered to hold the population census and update the National Population Register (NPR) in the state under 2021 census.

The exercise will be carried out from May 15 to June 28, 2020.

Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi had earlier announced that a decision has been taken to update the NPR.

The Union Cabinet on December 24 had approved a proposal to update the NPR. The NPR was discussed thoroughly at the meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

At the meeting, the Prime Minister also asked the ministers to reach out to masses to highlight the plight of refugees who came from Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan due to religious persecution.

The Citizenship Amendment Act, 2019, seeks to grant Indian citizenship to Hindu, Christian, Sikh, Buddhist and Parsi refugees from Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Bangladesh and who entered India on or before December 31, 2014.

The NRC seeks to identify illegal immigrants in the country. It was rolled out in Assam on the directions of the Supreme Court where 19 lakh people were excluded from the final list.