BBMP Seeks Faster Issuance of Records

Even as the BBMP’s plans to issue birth and death certificates within an hour of the event being recorded may not materialise soon, the civic body is determined to ease the process of obtaining these vital documents.

The BBMP claims to have developed a unique software allowing it to issue birth certificates on the same day and death certificates within three days. Touted as being a pioneering initiative in India, the software allows electronic transfer of data on births and deaths directly from hospitals to BBMP registration centres.

Speaking to reporters on Monday, Shankarappa, joint director (Statistics), BBMP, said every year, around 1.6 lakh births and 50,000 deaths occur in BBMP limits. He explained that the e-transfer software had 54 different data fields on cause of death and also recorded the age of the deceased, whether a baby is underweight and the age of the baby’s mother.

Currently, registrations are done at 27 centres of the BBMP and at government/BBMP hospitals. Shankarappa said the registration of births and deaths using the software will be carried out at 1,480 private health institutions, 22 BBMP maternity hospitals and six referral and five major hospitals.

All these hospitals have been given an identity number and password, which will be used by the staff to transfer data to registration centres.

How the New Software Works

• Details of a birth/death will be recorded at hospitals

• Data will be transferred from hospitals to BBMP registration centres

• Staff at registration centre will approve the received data and take a printout

• The hospital shall collect the printout of birth certificates and hand it over to parents before the baby and mother get discharged

• Processing time is three days for death certificate

• Both shall be issued free of cost

Advantages

• Quick transfer of data

• Avoids mis-linking of records

• Citizens can obtain any number of copies (only the first one is free) at registration centres, citizen service centres, BangaloreOne and other offices

Ensure These are in Order

• Each certificate has pre-printed unique serial number

• Has State and Central government emblems

• Contains BBMP emblem watermark

• The printed certificate comes with a digital security code

• Has a digital signature In the Pipeline

• If hospitals fail to issue certificates as prescribed, their trade licences will be cancelled

• In case of delay or non-issue, penalties will be levied on hospital/ BBMP staff and the sum will be given to parents