The old system of Registration of births& Deaths involved a lot of paper work at the level of Registrations. This had been adversely affecting the work of registration and the transmission of statistical returns from registration units to the state headquarters. The form and procedures of registration have been revamped with a view to reduce the paper work of the registrars and to quicken the transmission of data/records as well as to make the system amenable to modern technology. In the revamped system of registration, the forms have been completely redesigned and the procedures of registration and submission of statistical returns have been changed.

In view of the above, a need has arisen to equip the personnel engaged in the work of registration about the various forms and procedures to be followed in registration and transmission of statistical returns. A guideline for registration in special cases has also been included to facilitate the Registrars. It is hoped this publication would serve as a useful guide to the Registrars who are actually doing the work of registration of births and deaths in the country.

This edition of the Registrars Manual was prepared with the hope of a Committee including Chief Registrars of Andaman and Nicobar Island, Gujarat, Haryana, Karnataka and Mizoram, Registrars of Birth and Deaths of Municipal Corporation of Calcutta and Directors of Census Operations of Andra Pradesh, Chandigarth and Utter Pradesh. I would like to place on record my appreciation of the valuable contributions made by the members of the Committee.

I must thank the vital Statistics Division (CRS Unit) of this office, which has done commendable Job in revamping the system of registration and compelling this manual. I am happy to record my appreciation of the efforts put in by Shri.R.G Mitra, Deputy Registrar General (CRS), Shri. Nand Lal, Senior Research officer and their team in bringing out this publication.

J.K.Banthia
Registrar General, India

New Delhi
Dated: April, 2001

The enactment of the Registration of Births & Deaths Act, 1969 has made the Registration of Births, Deaths and Still Births compulsory all over the country. It has provided statutory authority at the centre and state levels. At the center, the Registrar General, India appointed by the Central Government under the Act coordinates and unifies the activities of the state Governments on the matter of Registration of Births & Deaths and submits to the central Government an annual Report on working of this Act. Chief Registrars appointed under the Act are the executive authority and responsible for the entire work of registration and compilation of statistical reports in the States. To carry out the provision of the Act, the Registrar general India, in consultation with the Union Law Ministry, brought out the model Rules in 1970 providing the forms and procedures to be adopted for the registration. That system of registration involved a lot of paper work at the registrars level and thus had affected the transmission of statistical returns from Registrars to the state headquarters. The forms and procedures of Registration have been revamped with a view to reduce the paper work of the Registrars, quicken the transmission of Data/records and make the system suitable for use of modern technology. In this system, the forms have been redesigned by segregating the legal items from the statistical items and by adding some new relevant items. The legal part of the reporting forms will from a part of the respective registrars and the statistical part need to be transmitted to the state headquarters for statistical compilation. Consequently the kerala Registration of Births & Deaths Rules 1970 have also been revised and the Kerala Registration of Births & Deaths Rules 1999 have been brought out (Annex-II). The revamped system of registration has been implemented uniformly through out the country

The various forms used in the revamped system of registration are:

Form No.1 - Birth Report Form
Form No.2 - Death Report Form
Form No.3 - Still Birth Report Form
Form No.4 & 4A - Medical Certificate of Causes of Death
Form No.5 - Birth certificate
Form No.6 - Death certificate
Form No.7 - Birth Register
Form No.8 - Death Register
Form No.9 - Still Birth Register
Form No.10 - Non-availability certificate
Form No.11 - Summary Monthly Report of Birth
Form No.12 - Summary Monthly Report of Deaths
Form No.13 - Summary Monthly Report of Still birth

Format of these forms are prescribed as part of the Model Rules1999 (Annex-II)

1. Civil Registration is defined as continuous, permanent, compulsory recording of the occurrence and characteristics of vital events (birth, death, marriage etc.) as defined in and as provided through decree or regulation in accordance with the legal requirements of a country. It provides a safeguard to social status and individual benefits. Among other benefits the system provides the individual with a unique identity (her/his name), records parental relationships and provides a statement of place of birth of the child and usually of one or both parents. which are basic grounds on which nationality may be established, depending on laws of each country. The birth registration records is generally required for establishing proof of age for school entry, employment, obtaining a driving license, entering into legal contracts, marriage etc. The death registration record is generally required for settlement of inheritance, insurance claims, claiming family allowances and other social security benefits.
2. For administrative purposes, the birth records are the basis for public health programmes for post-natal care of mother and child and for programmes of vaccination, immunisation etc. The death records are useful indicators of existence of infectious and epidemic diseases and the need for immediate control measures. The registration records can also be extensively used in medical research and in epidemiological and genetic studies. The can provide the frame for follow-back or follow up sample surveys.
3. Compilation of detailed vital statistic has now become a major function of the civil registration system. The vital events and the related characteristics of the events provided at the time of registration readily lend themselves for compilation of continuous series of vital statistics. These statistics can be used for measuring population change on an annual basis, which otherwise cannot be obtained from Censuses it is only a periodic activity. In addition, the civil registration system can provide the vital statistics for very small geographical areas, a characteristic that no other data collection system can provide. Among other demographic uses of vital statistics are study of fertility and mortality and construction of life tables and preparation of projections. Vital statistics are invaluable for planning, monitoring and evaluating various programmes such as those dealing with primary health care, social security, family planning, maternal and child health, nutrition, education, education, public housing and so forth.