Delay in the decennial Census
Why in news :
- The decennial Census of 2021 has been pushed forward yet again and is unlikely to start till September 2023, at least.
- The Additional Registrar General of India communicated to States on January 2, without specifying a reason, that the date of freezing of administrative boundaries has been extended till June 30.
- The Census can only begin three months after the boundaries have been frozen.
- Also the completion of the Census in its two phases takes at least 11 months.
- According to UN statistics, multiple countries had delayed their census exercises due to the pandemic, but many of them, like the U.S., U.K., China, and Bangladesh, have completed the count by now.
Historical background of census :
- India’s first proper or synchronous Census which begins on the same day or year across regions of the country, was carried out in 1881 by the colonial administration.
- Post 1949, the census exercise has been conducted by the Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India under the Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India.
- Since then the exercise happened every 10 years, except the one that was supposed to be carried out in 2021.
How census is done in a vast country like India :
- The Census is still conducted under the Census Act of 1948, which predates the Constitution.
- Notably, the Act does not bind the government to conduct the Census on a particular date or to release its data in a notified period.
- The decennial census is carried out by lakhs of enumerators empanelled and trained by the government in two phases.
- The first phase is the housing Census.
- In this phase the data on housing conditions, household amenities and assets possessed by households are collected.
- In the second phase the data on population, education, religion, economic activity, Scheduled Castes and Tribes etc are collected.
Necessity of the census :
- The Census data is crucial for various administrative functions, welfare schemes, and other surveys.
- To know the population change in the country.
- To calculate the various demographic attributes of the country.
- To rightly recognize the eligible beneficiaries under the various social welfare schemes.
Implications of a delayed census :
- The Finance Commission allocates funds to States on the basis of Census figures and any delay in the census could put them at a disadvantage.
- Outdated Census information (available from the last Census in 2011) often becomes unreliable and affects those who do and do not receive the benefits of welfare schemes.
- As per the National Food Security Act, 2013, 75% of the rural population and 50% of the urban population — totalling 67% of the country’s population — are entitled to receive subsidised food grains from the government under the targeted public distribution system (PDS).
- According to the 2011 Census, India’s population was about 121 crore, and PDS beneficiaries were approximately 80 crore.
- If the 67% ratio is applied to 2020’s projected population of 137 crore, PDS coverage should have increased to around 92 crore people.
- Census data are critical for other sample surveys conducted in the country as they use the Census data as a ‘frame’ or list from which a representative sample of the population is selected for surveys.
- For the latest edition of the National Family Health Survey (NFHS5) released last year, it was the 2011 data that served as the sampling frame.
- Besides, the Census is crucial to determine the population of migrants and migration patterns.
- The start of the pandemic saw a sea of migrants on the country’s roads, and the only data available with the government was from 2011, which could not answer queries on the numbers, causes and patterns of migration.
Syllabus : Prelims + Mains; GS2 – Indian Polity and Governance
