What happened: Nurses Registration and Tracking System (NRTS) has low registration coverage

The Nurses Registration and Tracking System (NRTS) shows low national coverage for nurses. Only about 14.24 lakh of 46.02 lakh nursing personnel are enrolled on the national system. About 31.78 lakh nursing personnel are not enrolled on the national registry.

Regional pattern in enrolment

Enrolment coverage varies across states. The system shows regional disparities, with several large southern states lagging while some eastern states show comparatively higher enrolment rates.

Background: Why NRTS depends on state-level registration and verification

NRTS relies on the jurisdiction of state nursing councils for primary registration and verification. The Indian Nursing Council attributes delays to jurisdictional and federal-coordination issues. Nurses are said to depend on state verification to obtain a national unique identity card and a nurse passbook. These state-level registration and verification steps then feed into the national NRTS record.