NRC logjam delays SIR in Assam, no clarity on timeline

GUWAHATI: Assam remains the only state to have gone to assembly polls in April without undergoing the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, with no clarity yet on when the exercise will be conducted as the creation of an Aadhaar-like data security regime for the National Register of Citizens (NRC) has missed its August-September deadline.

Instead of SIR, a Special Revision (SR) was conducted. Illegal immigration from Bangladesh has long been a contentious issue in the state. On October 16 this year, the Assam's Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) announced the commencement of a Special Summary Revision (SSR) of electoral rolls. The draft electoral roll is scheduled to be published on November 12.

A senior Assam government official said, "There was a timeline to complete the creation of an Aadhaar-like data security regime for the NRC by August-September, but the process has not been completed. There is no clarity on when it would be finalised. Only after its completion can the SIR process be rolled out. The RGI can notify the NRC only after the data security regime is in place." On November 18, 2025, Assam CEO said the state's home department had informed the ECI that work on creating the data security regime for the NRC was underway and was likely to be completed by August 2026. The SIR of electoral rolls in Assam could be conducted once the process was completed, he said.