Our community newsletter puts a spotlight on people who have gone above and beyond in their efforts to support CRVS programmes in Asia and the Pacific, raise awareness of CRVS issues or lead CRVS improvement efforts in their home country or in the region.  This month, we would like to dedicate this issue of Insight to Prawin Kumar.

What is your current title and role?

Deputy Director – Vital Statistics Section / Deputy Chief Registrar – Births and Deaths, Directorate of Economics and Statistics (DES), Department of Planning and Development, Government of Bihar, India.

As section head, I am responsible for implementing and managing the Civil Registration and Vital Statistics (CRVS) system in all 38 districts of Bihar. I am also responsible for monitoring the progress of birth and death registration in the State and provide supportive supervision to the District Statistical Officers.

Can you please share with us a particular experience which highlighted the importance of CRVS to you?

Completeness of birth and death registration in Bihar has been a longstanding challenge, compared to all the States and Union Territories in India. Prior to 2017, the registration process was completely manual, causing significant delays in the registration process including the provision of birth and death registration certificates. With the determination to progress further, the State underwent a transition from a paper-based registration system to a digital system, facilitating the online registration of vital events in the Civil Registration System (CRS) portal of the Office of the Registrar General of India. I have been responsible for leading this challenging task. With necessary technical and logistical support from UNICEF – Bihar office, I visited almost all districts in Bihar, holding meetings with the district and block level registration officials, including Data Entry Operators to train them in the online registration process in the CRS portal. Thereafter, I have been leading the development of a monitoring mechanism and refresher training system, to manage the successful integration of the online registration system. Between 2017 and 2019, the online registration system was rolled out in all 38 districts of Bihar. 

How are you currently involved in CRVS improvements?

As the head of the Vital Statistics Section, I supervise and guide all officials responsible for birth and death registration at the State, District and Block levels. I undertake field-level monitoring visits to provide supportive supervision and guide registration officials in adhering to the Birth and Death Registration Rules of the State. I am responsible for managing administrative activities related to CRVS and coordinate closely with the Chief Registrar. I am also responsible for coordinating with the Office of the Registrar General of India. My previous experience working as a CRVS official at the block and district level has helped me to perform my duties and responsibilities efficiently.

Which advice would you give to others trying to improve CRVS systems?

My advice to all registration officials in Bihar is:

- Let us target our best efforts to provide legal identity to all children in the State, until we reach the last mile.

- Be committed to guide and provide registration related services, including certification to all clients in all registration units (in both rural and urban areas).

- Map the areas with low registration performance and develop innovative solutions to improve performance.

- Target efforts towards ensuring that all deaths are registered in a timely manner, with a Medical Certification of Cause of Death (MCCD).