Govt forms high-level panel to address demographic changes

The Centre has constituted a high-level committee to address the challenges of demographic change caused by infiltration and other reasons. In a social media post, Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Tuesday informed that the committee will be chaired by former Supreme Court Judge Justice Prakash Prabhakar Naolekar. Census Commissioner, along with former IAS officer Durga Shankar Mishra, former IPS officer Balaji Srivastava and economist Dr. Shamika Ravi have been appointed as members of the committee. The Joint Secretary (Foreigners-I) in Home Ministry will serve as the Member Secretary in the committee.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his Independence Day speech from Red Fort last year had announced about the High-Level Committee on Demographic Change. Shah said that infiltration and other reasons are causing unnatural demographic change which poses a very significant challenge to the present and future of any nation.
He said demographic Change is a serious issue linked not only to sovereignty but also to national security, law and order, profound changes in social structure and the preservation of tribal society. The Home Minister said, the committee will conduct a comprehensive assessment of demographic changes occurring across India due to illegal immigration and other unnatural causes. It will also analyze patterns of abnormal population shifts at the levels of religious and social communities and present a planned and time-bound solution for the same.