Amit Shah reviews support plan for panel on demographic shift

New Delhi: Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Saturday chaired a meeting of senior Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) officials to review arrangements for facilitating the work of the High-Level Committee on Demographic Changes.

The committee, announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi from the Red Fort on August 15, 2025, was formally constituted on May 26 this year. Headed by former Supreme Court judge Justice Prakash Prabhakar Naolekar, it has been tasked with studying demographic changes across the country, particularly in border areas.

Officials said the committee will also visit metropolitan cities and industrial towns to assess demographic trends. Its first meeting has already been held and the agenda finalised. The MHA will provide logistical and other support required for the panel's functioning.


The committee was constituted to examine demographic changes arising from illegal immigration and other "unnatural causes" and recommend measures to address the challenges.

Apart from Justice Naolekar, the panel comprises Census Commissioner Mritunjay Kumar Narayan, former IAS officer Durga Shankar Mishra, former IPS officer Balaji Srivastava and economist Dr Shamika Ravi. The Joint Secretary (Foreigners-I) in the MHA will serve as the committee's member secretary.

Announcing the panel's formation last month, Shah had said demographic change was a serious issue linked to national security, sovereignty, law and order, social stability and the preservation of tribal communities.

According to the government, the committee will conduct a scientific assessment of demographic changes across regions, analyse patterns of abnormal population shifts among religious and social groups, identify their causes, and recommend policy, legislative and administrative measures to address them within a defined timeframe.