India maintains two major identity databases — the National Population Register (NPR) and the National Register of Citizens (NRC). NPR records all usual residents, while NRC identifies only citizens. Both gained attention due to debates on citizenship, Aadhaar, and the Citizenship Amendment Bill.

BulletsIn

• NPR records all usual residents staying 6+ months
• NRC lists only Indian citizens; excludes foreigners
• NPR mandatory for all residents; NRC citizenship-specific
• NPR under Citizenship Act 1955 and Rules 2003
• NRC planned nationwide; updated first in Assam
• Aadhaar gives identity benefits but not citizenship
• CAB changes citizenship rules for select communities
• Census collects macro data; NPR captures individual identity
• NPR includes 15 demographic fields + biometrics
• NRC considered a subset of NPR database