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BIRTH CERTIFICATE
What is a Birth Certificate and Why is
it Essential?
A Birth Certificate is the most important identity document
that makes it possible for anyone in possession of it
to benefit from a gamut of services offered by the Indian
Government to its citizens. It becomes necessary
to obtain a Birth Certificate because it serves to establish
the date and fact of one’s birth for a whole range of
purposes, like acquiring the right to vote, admission
to schools and to the Government Service, claiming the
right to marry at the legally permissible age, settlement
of inheritance and property rights, and obtaining Government-issued
identity documents like a driving licence or passport.
The Legal Framework
In India, it is mandatory under the law (as per the Registration
of Births & Deaths Act, 1969) to register every
birth/stillbirth with the concerned State/UT Government
within 21 days of its occurrence. The Government accordingly
has provided for a well-defined system for registration
of Birth, with the Registrar General at the centre and
the Chief Registrars in the States, running through district
registrars to the village and town registrars at the periphery.
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