Earlier, only the family’s religion was recorded in birth registers.

The proposed “Form No.1-Birth Report” will expand the column requiring a tick mark selection “for religion” of the child to now also state the “religion of father” and “religion of mother”, according to a report in The Hindu.

The Registration of Births and Deaths (Amendment) Act, 2023, passed by the Parliament on August 11 last year says that the birth and death database will be maintained at the national level and may be used to update the National Population Register (NPR), electoral rolls, Aadhaar number, ration card, passport, driving licence, property registration, and such other databases as may be notified.

According to the law, all reported births and deaths in the country are to be digitally registered through the Centre’s portal for the Civil Registration System - crsorgi.gov.in.

These certificates shall become a single document to prove the date of birth for various services, including admission to educational institutions, as per information cited in the report.