Relevance: GS-2: Government Policies and Interventions for Development in various sectors and Issues arising out of their Design and Implementation.

Key Phrases: Registrar general of India, NPR

Why in news?

• Census first phase, NPR data collection put off till September

Analysis:

What is census exercise?

• Population Census is the total process of collecting, compiling, analyzing and disseminating demographic, economic and social data pertaining, at a specific time, of all persons in a country or a well-defined part of a country.

• The decennial Census is conducted by the Office of the Registrar General and Census Commissioner, Ministry of Home Affairs.

• The decennial Census of India has been conducted 15 times, as of 2011.

• Beginning in 1872 under British Viceroy Lord Mayo, the first complete census was taken in 1881 under Ripon

Features of Indian census

• Census 2021 will be conducted in 18 languages out of the 22 scheduled languages (under 8th schedule) and English
• The option of “Other” under the gender category will be changed to “Third Gender”.
• Data is proposed to be collected through a mobile app by enumerators
• Census is conducted under the provisions of the Census Act, 1948.
• The information collected during the population Census is so confidential that it is not even accessible to the courts of law.

Significance of Census

• The Indian Census is the largest single source of a variety of statistical information on different characteristics of the people of India
• Researchers and Demographers use census data to analyze growth and trends of population and make projections.
• Good Governance: The data collected through the census is used for administration, planning and policy making as well as management and evaluation of various programmes by the Government.
• Demarcation: Census data is also used for demarcation of constituencies and allocation of representation to Parliament, State legislative assemblies and the local bodies.
• Better Access for Businesses: The census data is also important for business houses and industries for strengthening and planning their business for penetration into areas, which had hitherto remained, uncovered.
• Giving Grants: Finance Commission provides grants to the states on the basis of population figures available from the Census data.

About the logo of Census 2011

Issues with census

• The past four decades have seen a decline in the quality of data and growing delays in its release despite technological innovations.
• The legal foundation of the census has remained largely unchanged since newly independent India enacted permanent census legislation in 1948
• Old methods and questionnaire
• Data collection has not kept pace with improvements in data processing technology due to the lack of motivated and adequately trained enumerators.

Brief about NPR

• The NPR is a database containing a list of all usual residents of the country. Its objective is to have a comprehensive identity database of people residing in the country.
• It is generated through house-to-house enumeration during the “house-listing” phase of the census, which is held once in 10 years.
• While the census is legally backed by the Census Act, 1948, the NPR is a mechanism outlined in a set of rules framed under the Citizenship Act, 1955.
• The data for the NPR was first collected in 2010 along with the house listing phase of Census 2011.

Way ahead

• Reduce the number of questions- Nearly half of the ‘House listing and Housing Schedule’ of the census is devoted to questions on household amenities and assets
• There is a need to demystify census operations and build trust in the impartiality of the exercise, better scrutiny of electoral records and welfare schemes to weed out bogus beneficiaries.

Source: The Hindu