Latest news with #Census2021
Time of India
6 days ago
- Politics
- Time of India
Census process officially kicksoff, NPR unlikely to be updated
NEW DELHI: The Census process, put on hold five years ago due to the Covid pandemic, got off the ground on Monday with the home ministry notifying the Centre's intent to take a census of the country's population in 2027. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now No parallel National Population Register (NPR) updation may happen alongside the Census, according to government sources. The reference date for Census 2027 - the first to be held in digital mode - will be 00.00 hours of the first day of March 2027. For the UT of Ladakh and snow-bound areas of J&K, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand, the reference date will be advanced by six months, to 00.00 hours of the first day of October 2026. According to sources, Census 2027 - which is likely to put out final population data by 2027-end, setting the stage for delimitation and, based on it, implementation of women's quota in legislatures by the 2029 general election and, eventually, increase in strength of the Lok Sabha and state assemblies - is likely to replicate the schedule of past decennial exercises. It will be held in two phases - housing listing operations, likely between April 1, 2026, and Sept 2026, followed by population enumeration from Feb 9 to 28, 2027. Caste enumeration - a first since the 1931 Census - is likely to be done in the second phase. Sources indicated that the government is keen on a standalone Census exercise, rather than club it with NPR updation, which was to be done in 2020, simultaneously with the household listing phase of Census 2021. The notification regarding the intent to update NPR along with Census 2021 was issued on July 31, 2019. NPR was first prepared in 2010 and updated in 2015. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now The NPR database, as per Citizenship Rules, is the basis for the creation of a National Register of Indian Citizens. The enactment of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act in 2019 and a "leaked" NPR schedule were interpreted by some sections at the time as a move to disenfranchise Muslims, a charge refuted by the government. Interestingly, the BJP manifesto for the 2024 Lok Sabha polls had dropped the NRC promise. Census notifications are issued separately for each of its phases. For instance, the notification on intent to conduct Census 2021 was issued on March 26, 2019, and the pre-test notification on June 25, 2019. The schedule and questions for the housing listing phase were notified on January 9, 2020. Strict measures will be in place to ensure data security: MHA The notification on population enumeration was never issued for Census 2021. However, for Census 2011, it was issued on Aug 31, 2010. Since caste may be recorded only in the population enumeration phase of Census 2027, an intent in this regard may be notified only next year. A notification regarding a fresh pre-test — to test the updated Census 2027 processes and software in the field — will follow soon; the actual pre-test may happen in August-September 2025. This is despite a pre-test having been conducted in August-September 2019 ahead of Census 2021. Refresher training in the coming months will reorient the 34 lakh enumerators and supervisors and 1.3 lakh Census functionaries in the use of Census apps and the Census management and monitoring system, and also on how to capture caste. In a first, people can self-enumerate in both Census phases. On Sunday, Amit Shah reviewed Census preparations with MHA officials, registrar general and the Census Commissioner. 'Stringent measures will be in place to ensure data security at the time of collection, transmission & storage,' MHA said.
Hindustan Times
7 days ago
- Politics
- Hindustan Times
Govt issues notification for Census; pre-test done, apps developed
New Delhi: The Centre on Monday issued a notification for conducting 16th Census, thereby formally initiating the preparatory work for the largest population counting exercise after a gap of 16 years. '....the Central government hereby declares that a census of the population of India shall be taken during the year 2027. The reference date for the said census shall be 00.00 hours of the 1st day of March, 2027, except for the union territory of Ladakh and snow-bound non-synchronous areas of the union territory of Jammu and Kashmir and the states of Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand', said the notification issued by the Office of Registrar General of India or ORGI. 'In respect of the UT of Ladakh and snow-bound non-synchronous areas of the UT of Jammu and Kashmir and the states of Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand, the reference date shall be 00:00 hours of the 1st day of October, 2026,' it added. Customarily, once a gazette notification for intent of conducting Census is issued, there are various preparatory areas on which detailed discussions take place, including with data users, training of enumerators, etc but officials familiar with upcoming Census said 'most of these activities have already been completed since between 2021 and now'. The government had, last week, announced that the much-delayed Census exercise, which will include caste enumeration, will be completed by March 1, 2027. Officials have said that while the data collection would be over by March 1, 2027, the entire exercise to collate the data and publish it will take two to three more years. On preparatory activities already done, officials said that all the states have already constituted Census Coordination Committees (CCCs) under the respective chief secretaries. 'As the Census exercise was originally to take place in 2020, ORGI had already written to states/UTs for forming CCCs in April 2019,' said an officer, adding that the committees have various departments like revenue, local administration, municipal corporations, rural development and panchayats, planning education, etc for conducting and monitoring different phases of Census. Also, the pre-test for Census - which is conducted prior to each Census encompassing all facets to check feasibility of all questions, methodologies, logistics arrangements, processing of data, etc - was also done in 2019. 'The pre-test for Census 2021, which will now be called Census-2027, was conducted in 2019 in all 36 states/UTs across 76 districts in 90 areas (54 rural and 36 urban) covering a population of 26 lakh, in which around 6,000 enumerators and 1,100 supervisors from respective states/UTs were involved in data collection and supervision,' said a second officer cited above. The ministry of home affairs said on Sunday that the 16th Census will see involvement of about 34 lakh enumerators and supervisors. Besides, it said, around 1.3 lakh Census functionaries would be deployed for the exercise. It also said that the upcoming census 'will be conducted through digital means using mobile applications' and 'provision of self-enumeration would also be made available to the people'. Like all previous Censuses, the latest Census also has a technical advisory committee (TAC) to advise on all technical issues related to the decadal exercise. The members of TAC are mainly former Census commissioners, former deputy registrar generals of ORGI, former director of Census Operations, representatives of state governments and from ministries concerned, eminent demographers, and experts from selected institutions. The second officer cited above said the TAC held its first meeting on January 30, 2019 itself to discuss preparedness, suggestions to stakeholders, pilot test and data collection method. Its second and third meetings took place in September 2019 and December 2021, respectively. The 16th Census will be conducted in two phases. In phase one i.e. house-listing operation (HLO), the housing conditions, assets and amenities of each household will be collected. Subsequently, in the second phase i.e. population enumeration (PE), the demographic, socio-economic, cultural and other details of every person in each household will be collected. A third officer said that for the upcoming Census exercise, two separate mobile applications and a web portal have been developed for data collection along with its monitoring on real or near-real time basis. 'The mobile apps have been developed in English and 15 regional languages as per requirement of different states,' he said. The Census portal developed by ORGI is named as Census Management and Monitoring System (CMMS) and is for Census functionaries to monitor and manage every activity such as training, work allocation, logistics, real-time progress of work, online data entry etc. Earlier, on Sunday, Union home minister Amit Shah had reviewed the preparations for the Census. The ministry of home affairs said after the meeting that the Census will have the option of self-enumeration by residents. The ORGI has already developed a web-based portal called Self Enumeration (SE) Portal, which allows the respondents to view and update the information of their households members. The SE portal, according to officials, will be closed for changes, a few days prior to the census exercise start date. The objective of the portal is to digitize the process of capturing the census data, as the respondents can update the details of their family members online without the help of an enumerator. The SE portal will be accessible with authentication based on pre-filled information available with the ORGI and a one-time password (OTP) sent to the registered mobile number(s). The respondent will be allowed to change the family details, and add new family members and those family members who are not part of the household shall be marked as moved-out or died, said an officer explaining the process. The MHA also said on Sunday that 'very stringent data security measures would be kept in place to ensure data security at the time of collection, transmission and storage (for Census)'. On data security, the first officer cited above said 'for data capture and processing, three main data-centres have been set-up and existing 18 data capture centres (DCCs) have been upgraded'. 'These data centres are properly secured using the state-of-the-art technology including next generation firewall, DDoS protection, patch management, end point protection, web application firewall, etc. There are dedicated security analysts and engineers to monitor potential security threats,' he said. The Census forms an important node of policy making in India as it is the principal source of official socioeconomic and demographic data that forms the basis for government schemes, policies, and planning. But the 2027 census has assumed more importance because it is being held after a decade-and-a-half and will also officially confirm India's status as the world's most-populous nation. It will enumerate caste for the first time since the 1931 census, a politically explosive exercise that will have sweeping socioeconomic ramifications and lead to an expansion of caste-based quotas in jobs and education, likely breaching the 50% mark mandated in a landmark 1992 Supreme Court judgment. The census will also be the basis for conducting the delimitation exercise for Lok Sabha seats, another controversial process that threatens to drive a wedge between northern and southern India, as well as usher in the reservation of a third of all seats in national and state legislatures for women.
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Business Standard
06-06-2025
- Politics
- Business Standard
Population census at last: Several pending issues need fresh attention
There was a polarisation of views on getting the caste data included in the Census, with the government taking a negative posture while the Opposition was united in demanding it Amitabh Kundu P C Mohanan Listen to This Article The government has announced that the next population census along with caste counting will be done in 2027. The census was due in 2021 but was postponed due to the Covid pandemic. The preparations for the first phase of the Census 2021 were complete, and house listing work was scheduled during April-September 2020 and population count in February 2021. The passage of almost six years would mean that basic exercises would have to begin afresh. There was a polarisation of views on getting the caste data included in the Census, with the government taking a negative posture while the Opposition
Indian Express
06-06-2025
- Politics
- Indian Express
Census is welcome – it has to be about more than stats
In the recent past, the Centre has taken several steps to fill the gaps in data availability in the country. For instance, it has conducted two rounds of household consumption expenditure surveys for 2022-23 and 2023-24 which provide granular data on household spending patterns, and also allow for the estimation of poverty and inequality in the country. The government has also announced that the revamped sample design of the labour force surveys will allow for the generation of monthly estimates of key labour market indicators, which will aid policymaking. On Wednesday, it took another step, announcing the dates for the much delayed Census. This is a welcome development. The Census 2021 had been postponed due to the Covid-19 pandemic and has not been conducted since. This had meant that the last Census conducted provided estimates of India's population as of March 2011. Considering that timely and accurate data forms the basis of policy making, the continuing absence of the Census data has only hindered policymaking in the country. The Census 2027 will be conducted in two phases. As per a report in this paper, the household listing phase is likely to begin by March-April 2026, while the enumeration exercise will take place over 21 days in February 2027. As per the Ministry of Home Affairs, 'the reference date for population Census-2027 will be 00:00 hours of the first day of March, 2027'. For the UT of Ladakh and the non-synchronous snow-bound areas of Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand, the reference date will be 00.00 hours of the first day of October, 2026. Alongside, the exercise will also involve the enumeration of castes. This will be the first time since 1931 that the Census will gather detailed data on caste beyond Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes. But, the announcement of the Census has also raised questions on the possibility of delimitation — the process of reconfiguring the Lok Sabha and state assembly seats — and the implementation of 33 per cent reservation for women in Parliament. In addition to providing population estimates, the Census also collects data on several household socio-economic indicators. This provides vital information on the changes in the country over the decades. Alongside, the Census data is also used in various surveys, and by both government agencies and private entities in the formulation of policies and strategies. It thus serves an invaluable purpose, aiding policy making in India.
United News of India
05-06-2025
- Politics
- United News of India
Covid-19 delayed Census 2021; southern states' concerns will be take care of: MHA
New Delhi, June 5 (UNI) Attributing the delay in conducting Census 2021 to the COVID-19 outbreak, the Ministry of Home Affairs on Thursday said the concerns of the southern states regarding the delimitation process will be taken care of with all concerned at an appropriate time. The Ministry said on X that Home Minister Amit Shah had repeatedly clarified that concerns of southern states regarding the delimitation exercise will be taken care of and discussed with all concerned at an appropriate time. "Census 2021 was to be conducted and all preparations for the Census were completed. However, due to outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic across the country, the Census work was postponed. The aftershock of Covid-19 continued for quite some time," the MHA said. The Ministry said that a key challenge was the involvement of approximately 30 lakh enumerators, most of whom are primary school teachers. Conducting the Census immediately after Covid could have severely disrupted primary education. "COVID disrupted all sectors, including education. Around 30 lakh enumerators are needed for the Census. Enumerators, who are primary school teachers, are key persons for conducting Census. Conducting the Census after Covid could have disrupted primary education immensely," the MHA post said. "Countries which conducted Census immediately after COVID-19 faced issues with the quality and coverage of Census data. The Government has decided to commence the process of census forthwith, which will be completed on March 1, 2027, the reference date for Census," it said. The Ministry reiterated that budgetary constraints have never been a hurdle for conducting the Census, as adequate funding is consistently ensured by the government. The MHA said, "Budget has never been a constraint for Census as fund is always ensured by the Govt. Home Minister Amit Shah has clarified on many occasions that in the delimitation exercise, concerns of southern states will be taken care of and discussed with all concerned at an appropriate time". Notably, the government on Wednesday announced that Population Census-2027 will be conducted in two phases along with enumeration of castes and the reference date will be March 1, 2027. UNI RBE SSP
