# Birth-death amendment tightens rules, raises access fears 2026-08-12T20:07:26+00:00 | Governance | Indian Opinion Desk Corroboration: 1 independent outlet The Registration of Births and Deaths (Amendment) Bill, 2026, passed by parliament last week, tightens delayed registration procedures. Births or deaths reported after a year but within two years now require verification by a district magistrate or authorised executive magistrate. For delays beyond two years, a judicial magistrate’s order is needed. The government says the law aims to prevent fraudulent certificates. India claims near-universal registration: births rose from 86.6 per cent in 2014 to 99.1 per cent in 2024, and deaths from 72.5 per cent to 99.4 per cent. But activists warn that marginalised groups, tribal communities, migrants, the poor, face language barriers, geographic isolation, and costly court visits. The Federal reports that tribal rights activist S Balamurugan said the bill ‘passes responsibility onto people’ without fixing official errors or creating awareness. ## Coverage - thefederal.com Tags: access to services, birth registration, Civil Registration System, death registration, marginalised communities, Registration of Births and Deaths (Amendment) Bill 2026 Canonical: https://indianopinion.org/birth-death-amendment-tightens-rules-raises-access-fears/ License: Summary and commentary (c) Indian Opinion, reusable with attribution. Facts belong to the linked sources. Cite: https://indianopinion.org/birth-death-amendment-tightens-rules-raises-access-fears/#story-in-brief Review state: restored archive article, accurate at time of publication, not offered to search indexes.