Amit Shah directs the MHA’s support to a panel studying demographic change, particularly in border areas

Union Home Minister Amit Shah. | Photo credit: ANI

Union Home Minister Amit Shah chaired a meeting on Saturday (June 13, 2026) in which he directed Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) officials to ensure proper support to the High Level Committee on Demographic Change, ministry officials said.

The committee was formally constituted on May 26 and held its first meeting on June 2, about a year after Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced it. Headed by former Supreme Court judge Prakash Prabhakar Naolekar, the panel is expected to visit border districts, metropolitan areas and industrial cities to study demographic changes, particularly due to illegal immigration.

A senior official said the committee has already been convened and its agenda has been formulated. The MHA will provide logistical and other necessary support for its proper functioning, the official added.

Support meeting

The meeting on Saturday (June 13) was attended by Union Home Minister Govind Mohan, Intelligence Bureau (IB) chief Tapan Kumar Deka, Additional Secretary Nilesh Kumar Vyas, Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India Mritunjay Kumar Narayan and other ministry officials. Mr. Narayan is the only member of the panel who attended Saturday’s meeting.

As reported by The Hindu, the committee met for the first time on June 2, where it was decided to also study the deletion of names from the electoral roll after the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise, which has been conducted in 13 states and union territories so far. The panel requested documents from several ministries.

Recommend detention, deportation system

According to the committee’s terms of reference, its mandate is to study demographic changes resulting from illegal immigration and other abnormal reasons, as well as to recommend an appropriate institutional mechanism for “population stabilization”. The announcement added that the panel will also recommend “a well-organized and permanent operational system for the legal, fair and time-bound identification, detention and deportation of illegal immigrants already in the country.”

Other members of the panel include retired IAS officer Durga Shanker Mishra, who served as chief secretary of Uttar Pradesh, former IPS officer Balaji Srivastava, who served as director general of the Police Research and Development Authority, and Shamika Ravi, a member of the PM’s Economic Advisory Council. The Member Secretary of the Committee is Joint Secretary (Foreigners-I), MHA.

Published – 13 Jun 2026 15:28 IST