Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has presented the budget.
The Central Government’s Budget 2026-27 has once again brought the National Population Register (NPR) into the center of discussion. Even though no formal notification has been issued yet regarding conducting NPR, adequate funds have been provisioned for it in the budget. This naturally raises the question whether the process of NPR can be started in the coming time and whether it will become the basis for major steps related to citizenship in future.
This year’s Union Budget About Rs 6,000 crore has been allocated under Census, Survey and Statistics/Registrar General of India (RGI). The budget clearly states that this amount includes the expenses related to the office of the Registrar General of India and the Census Commissioner, their various schemes, NPR and the census of 2027. This line of the budget is giving rise to many speculations, because the name of NPR is clearly mentioned in it. However, the government says that no final decision has been taken yet to conduct NPR. According to Home Ministry officials, this budgetary provision has been made only as a precautionary measure, so that in future, if the government decides to conduct NPR, lack of funds does not come in the way.
Relationship between house listing and NPR
Generally, NPR is calculated along with the first phase of census i.e. housing census. This year, a notification has been issued to conduct the housing census between April and September, but there is no mention of NPR in it. This is why experts believe that at present the government has deliberately kept the situation unclear. Giving money in the budget may be an administrative preparation, while considering the political and social circumstances, the final decision on NPR should be taken later.
Why has NPR been in controversies?
As soon as the name of NPR comes, the events of 2019-20 become fresh in people’s minds. At that time, after the passage of the Citizenship Amendment Act, there were large-scale protests across the country. NPR was considered the first step towards preparing the list of citizens and it was feared that after this the National Register of Citizens i.e. NRC would be implemented. The opposition and many social organizations argued that this could especially harm minority communities.
The effect of these protests was that many states passed resolutions against NPR in their assemblies and the central government also put this process on hold. At that time, approval of thousands of crores of rupees for NPR had been received from the Cabinet, but due to the Covid-19 pandemic and political pressure, this plan could not move forward.
Provision already exists in the law
An important thing is that NPR is not a new concept. Its legal basis already exists. Both NPR and NRC are mentioned in the Citizenship Act, 1955 and the 2003 rules made thereunder. According to the rules, the Central Government can decide at any time that the population register should be prepared and the citizens should be verified on the basis of it.
It is also said in these rules that if the citizenship of a person is found doubtful, then he can be recorded in the records and further investigation can be done. This provision has been the cause of most concern, because it makes people fear that the process that looks like a general census may later take the form of a citizenship test.
Data collection has already been done
It is also important to note that data collection for NPR has already been done. NPR data was collected for the first time along with the census in the year 2010. After this, in 2015, this information was updated by going door to door. The government says that the data collected at that time is now completely safe in digital form and can be used when needed. But after 2016, as Aadhaar was made the main basis of government schemes, the role of NPR started decreasing. Distribution of subsidies, pensions and other benefits became easier through Aadhaar, due to which NPR was not given priority.
The government changed its stance after the protest
Efforts to reactivate the NPR in 2019 came at a time when the country was already going through a sensitive environment on the issue of citizenship. The news of lakhs of people being left out of the list during the NRC process in Assam further increased the concern of the people. For this reason there were widespread movements against NPR. Later the Prime Minister publicly said that the government has not yet taken any decision to implement NRC. The Home Minister and other officials also reiterated the same thing. After this, no concrete steps were taken regarding NPR.
The government is in no hurry
Now the name of NPR coming up again in the budget indicates that the government has not given up on it yet. However, the absence of notification and the cautious statement of the ministry also shows that the government does not want to do anything hasty at the moment. This issue will remain a topic of political debate in the times to come, especially when preparations for Census 2027 will intensify. Overall, NPR is still a subject in which administrative preparation, legal provisions and political sensitivity are entangled with each other. The budget has rekindled this debate, but the final decision is still hidden in the pages of the future.
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