Improving Birth Registrations

In India the birth registration level, which shows wide interstate variations, is low at about 55 per cent. The government launched a national campaign in 2003 to issue birth certificates to all children up to the age of 10 years. Punjab took the lead by distributing two million certificates in six weeks. While such short-term initiatives are valuable, the ultimate goal should be to strengthen and establish the system of birth registration on a permanent and sustainable basis.