Counting Deaths: Civil Registration in India

Why recording births and deaths matters for policy, how India's Civil Registration System works, and why death registration has historically been incomplete.

Accurate death records are essential data.

Why it matters

Health policy: knowing what people die from.
Planning services.
Inheritance and insurance claims.

India’s system

The Registration of Births and Deaths Act, 1969 requires registration.
The Civil Registration System (CRS) collects data.
The Sample Registration System (SRS) estimates death rates through surveys.

Coverage

Death registration rose over time, to around 90 percent or more nationally by recent years, according to official reports, but varies across states.
Medical certification of the cause of death covers only a minority of deaths.

2023 amendment

The 2023 amendment created a digital national database of births and deaths linked to other records.

Data delays

CRS and cause-of-death data are released with delays.

Why incomplete

Deaths at home in rural areas.
Distance to offices.
Low awareness.

The missing record

An elderly man dies at home in a village. Without registration, his widow struggles to claim his pension and bank savings.

Thinking all deaths are recorded with causes

Only a minority have medically certified causes.

Key takeaways

The 1969 Act requires birth and death registration.
Death registration has risen but varies by state.
Few deaths have medically certified causes.
A 2023 amendment created a digital database.