The Cabinet has approved the draft of the National Identity Registration Act, 2023 handing over the authority to issue national ID cards to the home ministry from the Election Commission.

Once the draft bill is passed in the parliament, the home ministry will establish a registering authority responsible for issuing National IDs, while the Election Commission will focus on preparing and updating the voter list, Cabinet Secretary Mahbub Hossain shared this information with reporters after a cabinet meeting on Monday.

According to the draft law, birth registration must be completed immediately after a child's birth, and it will be treated as the National Identity Number later. 

When individuals reach the age of 18, they will be included in the voter's list based on their National ID number.

The cabinet secretary also confirmed that the existing national identity card numbers held by citizens will remain valid. Those who currently do not possess a national identity card will be registered under the new law. However, the registration process will continue under the current system until the new law is implemented.

Furthermore, the new act will not take effect immediately after its passage in the parliament. The government will need to make an announcement for it to become effective.

In addition to this development, seven more laws were given the final nod and in principle in the cabinet meeting today, said the secretary of the cabinet department.