Registration of births and deaths just halfway

India is still a long way off the national target of cent per cent registration of births and deaths by 2010, with records till 2005 showing the figure was 64 per cent for births and 58 per cent for deaths.

The causes for low registration is mainly due to the lack of awareness about its importance, Registrar General of India D K Sikri said on Tuesday at the national conference of chief registrars of births and deaths.

Himachal, Kerala, Punjab, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal have achieved 100 per cent registration of births.