CURRENT AFFAIRS | 27 MAY 2026
The Ministry of Home Affairs on Tuesday, 26 May 2026 notified the High-Level Committee on Demographic Changes (HLCDC), to be chaired by former Supreme Court judge Justice (retd) Prabhakar Naolekar. The committee — first announced by PM Narendra Modi from the Red Fort on Independence Day 2025 — has been mandated to conduct an “extensive scientific study of the nature, causes and consequences of demographic changes occurring across the country” and submit its report within one year.
Who’s on the committee
- Chair: Justice (retd) P P Naolekar (former SC judge; was on the bench that upheld Mohammad Afzal Guru’s death sentence)
- Members: Durga Shanker Mishra (former Census Commissioner), Rajiv Kumar (former UP Chief Secretary), Balaji Srivastava (former BPR&D chief), economist Shamika Ravi
- Member Secretary: Joint Secretary (Foreigners-I), Ministry of Home Affairs
- Timeline: One year from constitution to submit report
CLAT angle — the citizenship + census statute map
HLCDC sits at the intersection of three statutory regimes you must master:
- Citizenship Act, 1955 — §6A is the Assam Accord cut-off (24 March 1971), upheld 4:1 by the Supreme Court in 2024. Rules of 2003 power the National Population Register (NPR).
- Census Act, 1948 — empowers the Centre to conduct the decennial census; penalties for non-cooperation under §11.
- Foreigners Act, 1946 + IMDT Act 1983 — IMDT was struck down in Sarbananda Sonowal v Union of India (2005) for reversing the burden of proof.
Key Facts
| Notification date | 26 May 2026 |
| Issuing ministry | Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) |
| Original announcement | PM Modi, Independence Day 15 August 2025 |
| Reporting timeline | 12 months |
| Focus areas | Illegal infiltration, settlement patterns, differential fertility, cross-border movement |
Mnemonic — "NAOLEKAR + 6A"
Remember the chair name NAOLEKAR and pair it with §6A Citizenship Act (Assam cut-off 1971). One name, one section — covers 80% of MCQs you’ll see on this committee.
Why this matters for CLAT 2027
Demographic change + Citizenship Act jurisprudence is a recurring CLAT theme since the 2019 CAA. The Sonowal (2005) precedent on IMDT and the 4:1 SC verdict (2024) on §6A are both fair game for Legal Reasoning passages.
Practice Quiz — 10 CLAT-Style Questions
Click an option to reveal the answer and explanation.
