Come Jan, online birth certificate to have baby’s name

“We conducted a trial in Adyar zone which yielded positive results. As per the new process, parents can apply for inclusion of the baby’s name online,” a Chennai Corporation health department official said.

Explaining further, the official said even though birth certificates are generated and provided online, they sometimes lack babies’ names. He added, “At present, parents must visit zonal offices to include the names of newborns. This takes time and nullifies the purpose of issuing online birth certificates.”

At present, the civic body generates birth certificates using registration numbers and details provided by hospitals where the babies are born. After the new system, parents have to scan their ID proofs, a declaration letter requesting inclusion of names and a copy of online generated birth certificate (sans the baby’s name) and upload it on the Corporation website. 

“Once the applications are uploaded, they would be sent to the sanitary inspectors in respective zones, who in turn will include the names. Once the name is included, the parent would receive an SMS alert after which the certificates could be downloaded,” the official added. Sanitary inspectors, however, will reject applications if the required details are missing.