Committee to study 'abnormal changes' in demography, says Amit Shah

New Delhi: A high-level committee has been constituted to study demographic changes due to "illegal immigration and other abnormal reasons" and suggest measures to deal with these challenges.

Justice Prakash Prabhakar Navlekar (retired)-headed committee will include census commissioner, Durga Shankar Mishra (retired IAS), Balaji Srivastava (retired IPS) and Shamika Ravi as members.

In a statement, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) said the joint secretary (foreigners-I), MHA, will be its member secretary. This committee will submit its report within a year. If necessary, MHA may extend its tenure by up to six months.


Union home minister Amit Shah posted on X, "Illegal infiltration and other reasons leading to unnatural demographic change is a very big challenge for the present and future of any nation. To deal with this challenge, PM Modi had announced the 'high-level committee on demographic change' on August 15, 2025. I am delighted to inform that the government has constituted this committee... This committee will conduct a comprehensive assessment of the demographic changes occurring across India due to illegal immigration and other abnormal reasons. It will analyse the patterns of abnormal population changes at the level of religious and social communities and will present a well-planned and time-bound solution to address the issue."

Terms of reference

1. Deliberate on the challenges arising from demographic changes, including illegal immigration

2. Study the possible causes of such changes, such as cross-border activities (including illegal immigration), economic opportunities and other socio-environmental factors

3. Identify underlying factors behind these changes, which include illegal immigration, abnormal settlement patterns and orchestrated migration

4. Analyse structural population changes at the level of religious or social communities, particularly where they deviate from broader trends

Dealing with the situation

TOR recommends a permanent operational mechanism for the legal, fair and time-bound identification, detention and deportation of illegal immigrants residing in the country.

It said the committee will recommend an appropriate institutional mechanism to strengthen border management, population stabilisation and identification systems for the continuous monitoring of such trends.

Policy framework

The committee will propose a policy framework to enhance coordination between the central and state governments on matters related to illegal immigration and the resulting demographic imbalances and may recommend any other measures it deems appropriate to address the challenges arising from demographic changes, including illegal immigration.