Civil registration

Objectives

• Exhaustive registration of vital events (births, deaths) with additional particulars

Dates

• Started in the 19th century (1850s in some cities)
• Currently running

Organization and management

• Office of Registrar General of India, Delhi, and various state-level bodies (department of public health, statistics, etc.)
• Enumeration conducted by local officials in rural areas
• Voluntary registration in urban areas (taluk office, etc.)

Sampling

• Registration of all births and deaths

Publication scale

• Data published at district/town/ state level.
• Data may also be published at lower level (urban wards, taluk, etc.) in specific states
• Volume: one volume per year for India.
• Information at state level may be included in State reports.

Publication

• Paper format: Civil registration in India series
• Electronic format: some tables may be available on various web site
• Raw data: not available

Topics covered

• Births: sex, age of mother, etc.
• Deaths: sex, age, cause of death, etc.
• No data available on migration, marriage, divorce, etc.

Web resources

• www.censusindia.net (very limited information available)
• More and more information available on specific State website. See for example for Delhi or Gujarat, but on the whole, it is a matter of luck.

Assessment

• Indispensable as the only potentially exhaustive source on births and deaths

Limitations

• Coverage and registration level vary from somewhat reliable to very poor
• Publication delays vary from five years to ten years
• Detailed cross tabulations not available

New features

• Major improvements in the CR system are now under way with the launching of the 2003 campaign on birth certificates (see information)

Unpublished district-wise data may be available at the ORG in Delhi if you meet the right people at the right moment (avoid tea time)