Two days’ workshop on Civil Registration and Vital Statistics (CRVS) systems organized by Directorate of Economics and Statistics (DES), Department of Planning and Development, Govt. of Jharkhand in collaboration with UNICEF & UNESCAP concluded today in Ranchi. Over 50 participants from planning & development department, health department and local bodies participated in the workshop. The purpose of the workshop was to improve birth registration in Jharkhand by strengthening the skill & capacity of stakeholders around Civil Registration and Vital Statistics (CRVS) systems. This workshop also provides opportunity among stakeholders to share insights and best practices and identify actionable strategies for improvement around CRVS in Jharkhand.

Mast Ram Meena, Principal Secretary, Planning and Development; Dr Kaninika Mitra, Chief, UNICEF Jharkhand; Rajeev Ranjan, Director, Directorate of Economics and Statistics; Dr. Petra Nahmias, Chief, Population and Social Statistics, UNESCAP & Raj Mitra, UNESCAP/UNICEF & Onkar Nath Tripathi, Social Policy Specialist, Jharkhand along with his counterpart in Bihar Abhay Singh addressed the workshop.

Speaking on this occasion, Mast Ram Meena, IAS, Principal Secretary, Planning and Development, Government of Jharkhand said, “The purpose of this initiative is to capacitate the statistical officers, planning development officers, urban bodies’ officials and health officials around civil registration and vital statistics. As birth and death registration is an essential service to the population, we need to identify the field level constraints and bottlenecks, such as lack of awareness and barriers to accurate data collection etc. This workshop will show the path for small and focused interventions and also ensure registration of every child and address challenges around birth & death registration effectively.”

Rajeev Ranjan, Director, Directorate of Economics and Statistics, said, “This workshop is a very important step to discuss and talk about hurdles and challenges around birth & death registration in Jharkhand.  This workshop will equip participants with comprehensive understanding of the framework, thus enabling them to identify key challenges within the CRVS system from both client and service provider perspectives and establish a solid foundation for continued efforts in system enhancement and redesign.”

Stressing on the importance of ensuring birth and death registration for every individual, Dr Kaninika Mitra, Chief, UNICEF Jharkhand said, “Accurate registration of vital events serves as the cornerstone for all planning and development efforts. Without reliable vital statistics, we cannot measure progress, track health outcomes, or plan the future in an informed way. This is why strengthening the civil registration and vital system (CRVS) is not just a technical or administrative task—it is a moral imperative to ensure the rights and well-being of every individual in Jharkhand.”

The participants who attended the workshop were Medical Officers, District Statistical Officers, Assistant Statistical Officers, Block Statistical Officers and the Data Entry Operators from urban bodies among others.