Overview
- The High-Level Committee on Demographic Changes met Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Wednesday and received his endorsement and a directive that the Home Secretary provide full assistance.
- Members say they have finalised a detailed questionnaire that will be sent to chief secretaries and other officials before the panel begins visits to States and Union Territories to gather ground-level information.
- The five-member panel is chaired by retired Justice Prakash Prabhakar Navlekar and includes the Census Commissioner Mrityunjay Kumar Narayan, Durga Shankar Mishra, Balaji Srivastava, and Shamika Ravi.
- The committee will compare 2011 Census baselines with current patterns, use Population Census 2027 outputs as they emerge, and seek administrative records such as names removed in the Election Commission’s Special Intensive Revision to estimate migration-linked shifts.
- The panel is expected to recommend policy, legislative and operational measures and may propose a permanent system for time-bound identification, detention and deportation of illegal immigrants which could alter how migrants are processed and how state agencies coordinate.