KATHMANDU, JULY 1A total of 3,721,115 personal events have been registered with the local levels throughout the country in the fiscal 2022-23. 'MDMS revolutionises mobile phone industry in the country' 'Many decisions have been taken to make Indo-Nepal ties super hit' According to the annual report of the Government of Nepal released by the Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers, the registered personal events include birth registration (1,970,887), death registration (497,145), marriage registration (792,363), divorce (27,325) and migration (433,434).

In the fiscal 2022- 23, the government managed to secure only 77.2 percent of birth registration of children under five years of age compared to its target of 90 percent.

Birth certificate is the first identity of a child.

Due to lack of such records, many children in the country have been facing difficulty getting admission to school and registering their names for various exams.Despite the provision for online registration of personal events in place, 151 out of 6,743 wards are yet to provide such service through digital platform due to lack of access to internet. The report stated that 151 wards had not been able to provide online service as they did not have access to internet facility.

In order to fill that gap, the authorities have been conducting outreach programmes in such wards encouraging people to register their personal events.

As per the Birth Death and Other Personal Events (registration) Act- 1976, vital events such as birth, marriage, divorce, migration and death should be registered with the office of the local registrar within 35 days of such events.

However, data indicate that many people show no or less interest in registering personal events owing to lack of awareness.

As per statistics, the number of children whose births are legally recorded within 35 days of birth is just six per cent in Nepal.

Similarly, around 77 per cent children are officially recorded in between 35 days to five years after birth.Birth registration is the right of each child ensured by the Article 39 of the constitution.

Due to people's reluctance to register such vital events, many have to go through legal hassles when it comes to receiving state services and facilities.A version of this article appears in the print on July 2, 2023, of The Himalayan Times. .

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