Odisha launches online registration system for birth, death certificates

The registration system that has been made completely online is now available at 430 units across the State.

Updated on : 14 Mar 2022, 2:54 am 2 min read

BHUBANESWAR: In a bid to get real time data and hassle-free registration of birth and death, Odisha government has shifted the certification system from Urban Development department to the Health and Family Welfare department.

The registration system that has been made completely online is now available at 430 units across the State. Earlier the online system was functional in 314 CHCs (rural units) and it has now been extended to 116 urban units.

Though the State has 114 urban local bodies, three units have been set up in Bhubaneswar (BMC Hospital, Capital Hospital and AIIMS) taking the number to 116. Health officers/superintendents of hospitals have been assigned as registrars in the units.

Officials said a single registration system has been put in place so that people can apply online and get birth and death certificates downloaded free of cost. The service is free up to three weeks and thereafter a nominal fee is charged as penalty. A dedicated website - Odisha Birth and Death Registration System (OBDRS) has been developed where the birth and death certificates will be available to the citizens as part of the online service.

The registration through the online method has the features of registering the domiciliary birth/death from home, applying for the birth certificates for domiciliary as well as the hospital deliveries and downloading the certificates.

The registration units in the rural areas have been provided with computers, printers and scanners to make the registration process much easier, simple and user-friendly with enhanced accessibility.

Chief Registrar of Birth and Death cum Director of Health Intelligence Dr Ramachandra Rout said the online service can now be accessed by the people living in far off and remote areas and Odisha is the first State to do so. The system, he said, will address the issues of delay in registration of birth and death, travelling long and other related bottlenecks in getting the birth or death certificates.

“People have been advised to give valid mobile number and email ids for various services to get system generated information on status. If registration is done within 21 days of birth and death, the first certificate fee will be free of cost,” he said.

Although the government had introduced the online registration of birth and death in the urban areas in 2014, the reporting of birth, death and the issue of certificates were being done manually in rural areas of the State making the process time-consuming and less transparent.