The Lok Sabha was informed on Tuesday (August 5, 2025) that the Citizenship Act of 1955 requires the Central Government to register every citizen of India and issue National Identity Cards to them. The Ministry of Home Affairs was responding to a question from Trinamool Congress member Mala Roy regarding the details of cards that, according to the court of law, are acceptable identification proof for proving Indian citizenship.
Bandi Sanjay Kumar, Minister of State for Home, stated in a written response that the Citizenship Act of 1955, as amended in 2004, requires the Central Government to register every citizen of India and provide a National Identity Card to them. The Citizenship (Registration of Citizens and Issue of National Identity Cards) Rules of 2003 explain the process of implementing it.
Eligibility Criteria For National Identity Cards
According to the rules, citizens whose information is listed in the National Register of Indian Citizens, also known as the National Register of Citizens (NRC), are eligible to receive national identity cards.
The NRC exercise has only been conducted in Assam. However, the final register has not yet been released because the State administration has contested the 2019 draft NRC, which disqualified 19 lakh residents out of 3.29 crore applicants.
The National Population Register (NPR) will not be updated by the government during the upcoming Population Census in 2027. The first step in creating an NRC is the NPR, which was originally put together in 2010. Data was gathered simultaneously with the 2011 Census’s first phase, known as the House Listing and Housing (HLO) program. In 2015–16, the NPR database, which contains information on 119 crore residents, was updated.
Documents That Are Accepted As Proof Of Indian Citizenship
Even though the Aadhaar card is one of the most important documents in India and is required to access important public and private services, the Election Commission of India (ECI) argued in the Supreme Court during a recent hearing in the Bihar electoral rolls case that it is not a valid proof of Indian citizenship, strengthening the Union Government’s position on the subject.
Officials state that birth certificates, Indian passports, and voter ID cards are some of the most important documents that can be used as evidence of citizenship.
In a society where identification impacts access to everything from voting rights to social benefits, the issue over National Identity Cards is more than simply about policy — it is extremely personal. While the NRC is still incomplete and the NPR update has been postponed until 2027, millions of people are unsure of their official status.
With Aadhaar not acknowledged as proof of citizenship, citizens must secure important documents such as birth certificates, passports, and voter IDs. While the path to national identity remains unclear, one thing is certain — the question of who qualifies as Indian is no longer a bureaucratic one.
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