Brief Context
Context The Registrar General of India (RGI) released the “Vital Statistics of India Based on the Civil Registration System (CRS)”, highlighting key demographic trends, a decline in births, a marginal rise in deaths, and regional variations in sex ratio at birth and registration levels. Key Findings of the CRS 2023 Report Births Registered: 2.52 crore births were registered in 2023, around 2.32 lakh fewer than in 2022. Overall birth registration stood at 98.4%, indicating near-complete coverage.
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Syllabus: GS1 / Society and GS2 / Governance
Context
- The Registrar General of India (RGI) released the “Vital Statistics of India Based on the Civil Registration System (CRS)”, highlighting key demographic trends, a decline in births, a marginal rise in deaths, and regional variations in sex ratio at birth and registration levels.
Key Findings of the CRS 2023 Report
- Births Registered: 2.52 crore births were registered in 2023, around 2.32 lakh fewer than in 2022.
- Overall birth registration stood at 98.4%, indicating near-complete coverage.
- Institutional births: 74.7% of total registered births.
- Deaths Registered:
- 86.6 lakh deaths were registered in 2023, a marginal increase from 86.5 lakh in 2022.
- A significant jump had been noted in 2021, when deaths rose to 102.2 lakh (up by 21 lakh from 2020) due to the second wave of COVID-19.
- Sex Ratio at Birth (SRB):
- Lowest SRB: Jharkhand (899), Bihar (900), Telangana (906), Maharashtra (909), Gujarat (910), Haryana (911), and Mizoram (911).
- Highest SRB: Arunachal Pradesh (1,085), Nagaland (1,007), Goa (973), Tripura (972), and Kerala (967).
- Trend: Bihar continues to record the lowest SRB since 2020, highlighting persistent gender imbalance.
- Timely Registration of Births:
- 11 States/UTs achieved over 90% registration within 21 days, including Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, Haryana, Goa, and Punjab.
- 5 States (Odisha, Mizoram, Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Andhra Pradesh) reported 80–90%, while 14 States remained between 50–80%.
- Sikkim data was not included in the report.
| About Civil Registration System (CRS) – The Civil Registration System (CRS) in India is a unified process for the continuous, permanent, and compulsory recording of vital events such as births, deaths, and stillbirths. It does not include registration of marriages or divorces. – The system operates under the Registration of Births and Deaths (RBD) Act, 1969, which mandates compulsory reporting of all births and deaths to the designated Registrar of the area where the event occurred. |
Source: TH