DIMAPUR — The
Department of Economic and Statistics has informed that it has come to its
attention that certain agencies and institutions are not accepting manually
issued birth and death certificates for the provision of services to the public.
According to a DIPR report, it reiterated that, as per
Section 17(3) of the Registration of Births & Deaths Act 1969 (amended in
2023), birth certificates issued electronically or otherwise shall be the only
document used to prove the date and place of birth of a person.
The certificate may be used for purposes such as admission
to an educational institution, issuance of a driving licence, preparation of
the voter list, registration of marriage, appointment to a government post,
issuance of a passport, issuance of an Aadhaar number, and any other purpose as
determined by the Central Government.
It was mentioned that, to facilitate access to birth and
death certificates through online modes, the Department of Economics and
Statistics, Nagaland, launched the online registration of births and deaths in
2022.
At present, the service is available only in the 12 district
headquarters of Kohima, Dimapur, Chumukedima, Wokha, Zunheboto, Tuensang, Mon,
Mokokchung, Kiphire, Longleng, Peren, and Phek for the urban jurisdictions.
Efforts are being made to extend the online registration of births and deaths
to both the urban and rural registration units in the state, in a phased
manner.
Therefore, it said, certificates issued manually by the
registrars of births and deaths shall continue to be recognised as legal
documents, alongside computer-generated certificates, to prove the date and
place of birth of a person.
