Guwahati, Nov. 1: The National Register of Citizens (NRC) authorities have said they would help the Board of Secondary Education, Assam, to ensure the smooth conduct of the NRC verification process.

Seba, which conducts the matric examination, was earlier sweating over verification work related to the NRC update, as it could disrupt its preparation for the 2016 examination.

Seba is responsible for verifying the matric admit cards that NRC applicants have submitted as proof of link with their ancestors who had lived in Assam between 1951 and March 24, 1971.

According to sources, the number of admit cards could be over 50 lakh.

A team of officials and experts from the office of the state co-ordinator of national registration, Assam, visited the board's office on Friday and examined the status of the records of admit cards.

Seba has kept the records from 1963.

"We are extremely happy that Seba has maintained its records systematically. The board has digitalised its records since 2013. There should not be any possibility of records being misplaced at the Seba office. The board should not worry about doing the verification. We will provide all expertise and logistic support to ensure that Seba can simultaneously prepare for the matric exam and do the NRC verification smoothly," an NRC official told The Telegraph yesterday.

"We have completed the preliminary preparation for the matric examination. As the deadline for publication of the draft and final publication of the NRC has been extended, preparation for the exam and NRC verification should not clash now," Seba chairman Dhandev Mahanta told this correspondent.

The Supreme Court had earlier fixed today as the date to publish the draft NRC and January 1 next year to publish the final NRC.

On October 6, the court fixed January 1 next year as the deadline for the draft NRC and March 1 for the final NRC.

Mahanta said a meeting between officials of the board and office of the state coordinator of national registration, Assam, on Friday was also very positive.

According to Mahanta, as officials and employees of the technical branch of the board would not be directly associated with conducting the matric examination, they would be able to devote time to the verification.

He said the board officials and employees who were closely associated with the examinations would not be engaged in the verification of documents.

The NRC official said the Assam Higher Secondary Education Council, which conducts higher secondary examinations, would also be entrusted with the verification as some NRC applicants have submitted higher secondary admit cards as proof of links.

"We have also visited the council office and are happy with the way it has kept its records," the official said.