High-level demographic panel briefs Amit Shah, prepares for nationwide assessment

The High-Level Committee on Demographic Changes met with Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Wednesday to share its operational plan.

The committee will focus on collecting field-verified data about population shifts caused by illegal immigration and other factors.

Led by retired Supreme Court Justice Prakash Prabhakar Navlekar, the group said it will soon start visiting states and Union Territories.

The committee has prepared a detailed questionnaire that will be sent to state Governments in advance. This will help officials, local bodies, and stakeholders have structured, evidence-based discussions. The panel will also work with relevant Union ministries to check its findings.

The committee was officially formed on May 26, 2026, after Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the High-Powered Demography Mission on Independence Day 20The committee’s main job is to study demographic changes caused by illegal immigration and other unusual factors, look at their causes and effects, and suggest policy, legal, and administrative steps. This includes recommending a strong system for population stabilisation.

Along with Justice Navlekar, the panel includes Census Commissioner Mritunjay Kumar Narayan, former IAS officer Durga Shankar Mishra, former IPS officer Balaji Srivastava, and Dr Shamika Ravi from the Prime Minister’s Economic Advisory Council. ncil.

The committee has been told to submit its report within one year, by May 2027, with a possible six-month extension if needed.

At the meeting, Home Minister Shah reviewed the panel’s strategy and said he was satisfied with its preparations. He asked Union Home Secretary Govind Mohan to provide full administrative and logistical support for the visits and data collection.

Shah also emphasised the need for timely recommendations to help guide Government action. This work is especially important as India deals with the long-term effects of uneven demographic changes.

The last full census was in 2011. Without up-to-date national data, it has become crucial to track unusual changes, especially in border districts, cities, and industrial areas, to plan for security, infrastructure, and welfare programs. Security agencies have often pointed out that illegal immigration across open borders is changing local populations in several states.

These changes can put pressure on public services, affect law and order, influence how resources are shared, and, over time, change the social and political makeup of affected areas. The committee’s approach aims to go beyond existing data and gather real-time information through direct contact.

By prioritising visits to states and Union Territories rather than limiting itself to desk research, the panel hopes to gain a detailed view that reflects regional differences. The questionnaire sent in advance should help states gather important data on migration, birth rates, and settlement changes, making field visits more useful. Officials see the committee’s work as a key first step toward policies based on solid evidence. For internal security, sustainable development planning, the equitable allocation of central schemes, and the maintenance of social cohesion across diverse regions.

With its first major interaction with the Home Minister completed and a fieldwork calendar now in place, the committee is set to move into active data-gathering mode.

Its recommendations, once submitted, are likely to feed into broader Governmental efforts to address demographic imbalances through targeted administrative and legislative interventions.

The meeting on Wednesday has set the stage for a comprehensive, time-bound exercise whose findings could shape India’s approach to one of its most sensitive long-term governance challenges.