Making Birth And Death Certificates In Hyderabad Becomes Easier As GHMC Rolls Out New Digital System

Residents across Hyderabad are set to benefit from a revamped birth and death registration system after the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation extended its administrative reach to 300 wards.

The overhaul follows the merger of 27 Urban Local Bodies into GHMC and aims to ensure uniform, faster and more transparent civic services across the expanded city limits.

Digital overhaul after civic expansion

The GHMC has strengthened its registration and certification framework to match its enlarged jurisdiction. Officials said the changes were essential to provide seamless services to citizens residing in newly added areas. As part of this exercise, the civic body reviewed existing processes and upgraded its systems to support the larger administrative structure.

GHMC Commissioner RV Karnan said the corporation, working with the Centre for Good Governance, completed detailed mapping of all 300 wards and 60 circles. The mapping includes both government and private healthcare institutions operating within GHMC limits, ensuring that all births and deaths are captured accurately in the system.

New software application launched

A key outcome of the exercise has been the launch of a new birth and death registration and certification software application. The upgraded digital platform is expected to improve accuracy, reduce processing time and enhance transparency in issuing official documents.

According to officials, the new system has been designed to support citizen-centric delivery while ensuring consistency across all wards. Commissioner Karnan urged residents to use their nearest MeeSeva centres to register births and deaths and obtain certificates without delays.

Hospital-linked process for faster certificates

The GHMC has integrated both public and private hospitals across all 300 wards into the registration system. If a child is born in a hospital, parents will receive a text message containing details uploaded by the hospital to the GHMC database. Using this information, parents can apply for the birth certificate at a MeeSeva centre, with the document expected to be issued within seven days.

For births that take place at home, parents are required to approach the civic body directly. In such cases, certificates will be issued after due verification and completion of the prescribed process. The same procedure applies to death registrations, officials said.

CRS adoption still pending

The GHMC has proposed shifting to the Civil Registration System of the Registrar General of India for issuing birth and death certificates. However, the transition has been delayed as the online module required to integrate GHMC data with the CRS platform is not yet ready.

The Office of the Registrar General of India functions under the Union home ministry and its system is already used by several states, including Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Madhya Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh. "Till CRS system is adopted, we are keeping a vigil on the hospital data uploaded," said a GHMC official.

Officials added that the upgraded local system will continue to function until the national platform is fully integrated, ensuring uninterrupted services for citizens across Hyderabad.