Context:
When the Central Government did not extend the June 30, 2024 deadline to freeze administrative boundaries for the Census, it raised hopes that the decennial Census operations, originally set to start in 2020 in preparation for Census 2021, might finally begin in October 2024. It typically takes about three months after the boundaries are established to make the extensive preparations required for fieldwork.
Relevance:
- GS1- Population and Associated Issues
- GS2- Government Policies & Interventions
Mains Question:
Highlight the origin and evolution of the decennial census in India. What have been the repercussions of the delay in census after 2011? (10 Marks, 150 Words).
Census on Hold:
- However, these hopes were dashed when the Budget 2024-25 recently allocated ₹1,309.46 crore for the Census, a significant decrease from the ₹3,768 crore allocated in 2021-22 for the decadal exercise, suggesting it may not proceed even after the substantial delay.
- Consequently, the next Census remains on hold, with the government yet to announce a new schedule.
An absolute Necessity:
- Conducting the Census promptly is essential because, without a Census since 2011, a large portion of the country’s population is unable to access various schemes, benefits, and services.
- Furthermore, implementing the women’s Reservation Act, passed by Parliament last year to reserve 33% of seats in Parliament and Assemblies for women, depends on conducting the Census.
- Preliminary preparations for the Census, such as updating maps and lists of administrative areas, pre-testing draft Census questionnaires, training officers and core staff who will train the large number of field staff to collect Census data digitally via a mobile app, and planning the fieldwork, logistics, and budgeting, have been underway in the Census Directorates in States and Union Territories for the past few years in anticipation of conducting a Census.
- A visit to the Census Directorate of Tamil Nadu in Chennai and conversations with officials reveals they are ready to undertake the task once a new Census date is set. They only need quick refresher training.
- The ₹1,309.46 crore allocated in the 2024-25 budget could be used by the Census department to carry out several preliminary activities, such as finalizing enumeration areas, questionnaire completion, refresher training of core staff for the proposed digital Census, and the tabulation plan.
- The Constitution (Eighty-fourth Amendment) Act of 2001 was specifically enacted to prevent the delimitation of constituencies until the first Census conducted after 2026.
- If the Centre is considering conducting the Census in 2027 and using the population figures for delimitation purposes, then the Census reference date should be announced soon, along with a new deadline for freezing the boundaries of administrative units by the State governments and Union Territory administration.
Clarifications:
- To build a comprehensive database of usual residents in the country, the National Population Register (NPR) was initially prepared in 2010 during the Houselisting and Housing Census phase of Census 2011. It was updated in 2015 to reflect changes due to births, deaths, and migration.
- This process was conducted under the Citizenship Act, 1955. The NPR will be updated again during the Houselisting and Housing Census Operations (Phase 1) of the upcoming Census.
- The draft form of the NPR for the next Census includes questions such as “mother tongue, place of birth of father and mother, and last place of residence,” which were not part of the NPR prepared for the 2011 Census in 2010.
- Some States and citizen groups have opposed these new questions, as they view the NPR as the first step toward compiling the National Register of Citizens (NRC), according to the Citizenship Rules 2003. However, the Centre has clarified that NPR data will not be used in preparing the NRC.
- The Centre must decide whether to retain or remove the contentious questions in the NPR format for the first phase of the upcoming Census.
On Caste Information:
- There is a growing demand for the Centre to conduct a caste-based census to accurately assess the economic well-being of marginalized communities.
- In an affidavit filed in the Supreme Court of India on September 23, 2021, the Union Government stated that a caste census (except for the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, which is traditionally done) was unfeasible and “administratively difficult and cumbersome.”
Conclusion:
The Centre now needs to decide whether or not to collect caste information in the next Census. It is crucial that sufficient provisions are made in the 2025-26 Census Budget to ensure that the delayed 2021 Census can be held as soon as possible, ideally in 2026, following the completion of the first phase in 2025, which would include house listing, the housing census, and updating the National Population Register (NPR).
