1

OVERVIEW OF CENSUS 2011

PROVISIONAL POPLUATION TOTALS 1

Of creations, I am the beginning, the middle and the end;

Of knowledge I am knowledge of the Supreme Self;
The Gita,
Among speakers, I am words that are unbiased and
in Ch10:32
pursuit of truth

- The Gita, 10:32

Overview of Census 2011

OVERVIEW OF CENSUS 2011

1.1 INTRODUCTION
Census is a reflection of truth and facts as they exist in a country about its people, their diversity
of habitation, religion, culture, language, education, health and socio-economic status. The
word Census is derived from the Latin word Censere meaning to assess or to rate. In the
present context population census in India is primarily an official enumeration through a
direct visit to all the people who are physically present and residing regularly or temporarily in
the country at a given point of time.
Today, India stands at cross roads of history. Recent significant advancements in countrys
economy have taken the country to the centre stage of world attention. Much of this progress
is intrinsically linked to the development of human resources. While on one side, growth of
population has been a cause for concern, the youth, the educated and the employed are
being seen as demographic dividends; especially in times when world population is ageing.
However with increasing disparities, the challenge for the decade to come would be to focus
on the millenium development goals (MDGs) and the sections of society that remain less
privileged in education, health and employment; failing which the dividend may well turn into
a demographic liability. Among the largest peace time operations ever in the world, Census of
India, 2011 is thus uniquely placed to provide comprehensive evidence leading to appropriate
policies that focus on such important goals for the Indian society.

ENUMERATION OF HIS EXCELLENCY, THE GOVERNOR OF MADHYA PRADESH

PROVISIONAL POPLUATION TOTALS 3

Population is basic to production and distribution of material wealth. In order to plan for, and
implement, economic and social development, administrative activity or scientific research,
it is necessary to have reliable and detailed data on size, distribution and composition of
population. Population census is a primary source of these basic benchmark statistics, covering
not only the settled population but also homeless persons and nomadic groups. Data from
population censuses should allow presentation and analysis in terms of statistics on persons
and households and for a wide variety of geographical units, ranging from the country as a
whole to individual small localities, city wards and villages.

1.2 HISTORY
The earliest references of Census in India can be traced back to the Mauryan period in
Kautilayas Arthashastra (321-296 BC) and later during the Mughal period in the writings of
Abul Fazl (1595-96) in the Ain-e-Akbari. Census, in its present scientific form was conducted
non synchronously between 1865 and 1872 in different parts of the country. This effort
culminating in 1872 has been popularly labelled as the first Census of India. However the first
synchronous Census in India was carried out in 1881. An unbroken chain of censuses since then
gives the Indian Census a unique historical legacy unparalleled in the world. Census 2011 is
the fifteenth Census in this continuous series from 1872 and the seventh since Independence.

History of Census in India

Rig Veda
Arthashastra
Ain-e-Akbari
First systematic census conducted
all over India (non-synchronous)
First Synchronous Census
conducted all over India
Independent India
Census of 2011

ENUMERATION OF HONBLE CHIEF MINISTER OF MADHYA PRADESH

4

800-600 BC
321-296 BC
1595-96
1872 (1865-1872)
1881
1951
15th since 1872, 7th since Independence

Overview of Census 2011

The State of Madhya Pradesh came into existence on 1st November, 1956 by way of consolidation
of three states of Madhya Bharat, Vindhya Pradesh and Bhopal; the Sironj region of Rajasthan
(sub-division in Vidisha District) and Mahakoshal area which was earlier included in Central
Province (CP & Berar). After reorganization of the state, first census was conducted in the year
1961. Census 2011 is the sixth census of the state in this continuous series.

1.3 METHODOLOGY
The Census of India is conducted once in a decade, following an extended de facto canvasser
method. Under this approach, data is collected from every individual by visiting the household
and canvassing the questionnaire all over the country, over a period of three weeks. The count
is then updated to the reference date and time by conducting a Revisional Round. In the
Revisional Round, changes in the entries that arise on account of births, deaths and migration
between the time of the enumerators visit and the reference date/time are noted down and
the record is updated.
In Census 2011, for Madhya Pradesh the first phase of House listing Operations or Housing
Census was completed between 7th May to 22nd June 2010. The second phase of canvassing
questionnaire for Population Enumeration was conducted from 9th to 28th of February 2011.
Enumeration of the houseless population was done on the night of 28th February. Revisional
Round was then conducted from 1st to 5th March 2011 and the count updated to the Reference
Moment of 00:00 hours of 1st March 2011.

1.4 ORGANISING THE CENSUS

In India, the population census is a Union subject (Article 246) and is listed at serial number 69 of
the seventh schedule of the constitution. The Census Act 1948 forms the legal basis for conduct
of census in independent India. Although the Census Act is an instrument of Central legislation,
in the scheme of its execution, state hierarchy is setup at all levels by State Governments for
the purpose of carrying out census. The Census Organisation under the Union Home Ministry
has been functioning on permanent footing ever since 1961 and provides a vital continuity to
conceive, plan and implement the programme of census taking in country. The Organisation
headed by the Registrar General and Census Commissioner, India has field offices in thirty three
States and Union territories. These are permanent Directorates headed by the Directors of Census
Operations, who are mainly responsible for the conduct of census in their respective jurisdiction.
The states appoint State Co-ordinators for furthering co-ordination between the Directorate,
Government of India and the State Government. Deputy Commissioners under the guidance of
Divisional Commissioners function as Divisional Census Officers at the Division level in Madhya
Pradesh. District Collectors as Principal Census Officers are responsible for the census work
in their respective districts. Municipal Commissioners are also Principal Census Officers for
census work in municipal corporation areas, although the overall responsibility for a district
rests with the Collector. They are assisted by District Census Officers and City Census Officers
respectively. In addition, every Tahsildar in Tahsil and Chief Municipal Officer in a municipal
body are designated as Charge Officers for their jurisdictional areas which are called Census
Charges. In addition to civilian areas, the second phase of Population Enumeration was
conducted simultaneously in military and para-military areas along-with other sensitive areas,
which are designated as Special Charges for Census Operations. Each Special Charge is headed
by a Special Charge Officer for census operations.
A Charge is further divided into Enumeration Blocks which are areas with 125 to 150 families
PROVISIONAL POPLUATION TOTALS 5

and population of up to 800. Each enumeration block is allotted to an enumerator and a

supervisor looks after a Supervisory Circle comprising of five or six enumeration blocks. Census
2011 was successfully conducted in the state with the help of about 1.5 lac enumerators and
supervisors.

HIERARCHY OF CENSUS FUNCTIONARIES IN INDIA

Registrar General & Census
Commissioner, India
Directors of Census Operations,
State/UT
District Magistrates/Collectors/
Commissioners of Municipal
Corporations

Prinicipal Census Officers

Charge Officers

Tahsildars/Mamlatdars
Enumerators/Supervisors
State Co-ordinators

1.5 ADMINISTRATIVE UNITS

At the time of creation, there were 43 districts in the state of Madhya Pradesh. But during the
inter census period of 1971-81, two more districts, Rajnandgaon out of Durg and Bhopal out
of Sehore were created. Thus, there were 45 districts in the state until 1991 census. In MayJuly98, as a result of bifurcation and trifurcation of some of the districts, 16 more districts
came into existence and thus the number of districts in the state rose to 61. On 1st November,
2000 (precisely in the mid-night of 31st October) the new state of Chhattisgarh was carved out
of Madhya Pradesh with an area of 135,191 Sq. Km. and 16 districts.
After the Census of 2001, a new Division Shahdol comprising of four districts namely Shahdol,
Umaria, Anuppur and Dindori was carved out of Rewa and Jabalpur Divisions. The Hoshangabad
Division has been renamed as Narmadapuram Division and Betul district included in
Narmadapuram division from Bhopal division due to its geographical contiguity. During the
decade five new districts were created in the state namely; Ashoknagar from Guna district,
Anuppur from Shahdol district, Singrauli from Sidhi district, Burhanpur from Khargone district
and Alirajpur from Jhabua district. For Census 2011, the number of tahsils has increased to 342
from 259 in census 2001, an increase of 83 new tahsils during the decade. There have been a
few changes in the numbers of villages and towns during the decade. The comparative position
of various administrative units in the state in 2001 and 2011 censuses is as given below:-

Overview of Census 2011

Administrative unit

2001

2011

10

45
259
313
55,393
394

50
342
313
54,903
476

Divisions
Districts
Tahsils
Community Development Blocks
Number of Villages
Number of Towns

Statutory town is a notified urban area.

Census Town is a village with minimum population of 5000; population density of at least 400
persons/sq km; and where at least 75% of male main workers are engaged in non-agricultural
activities.
Outgrowth (OG) is an adjoining rural area to a statutory town with urban characteristics.
Urban agglomeration (UA) is a continuum of a town and its adjoining OG; or two or more
contiguous towns together and any adjoining OGs of such towns; or a continuous spread of a
city with one or more adjoining towns and their OGs. Minimum total population of UA should
be 20,000 with atleast one statutory town in it.

1.6 PLANNING FOR CENSUS 2011

The first step towards taking of Census 2011 was preparation of a complete and non-duplicated
list of all geographical entities in the state, which includes Districts, Tahsils, Towns and Villages.
Boundaries of all administrative units in the State were frozen as on 31st December 2009. This
exercise also involved obtaining the latest maps of districts, tahsils and towns.
A directory of administrative units with unique identification code for each unit was prepared
to ensure that every administrative unit is covered without omission or duplication. A unique
feature of coding system in Census 2011 is that it identifies Villages, Statutory Towns, Census
Towns and Forest Villages by separate series of codes.

ENUMERATION OF THE CHIEF SECRETARY, GOVERNMENT OF MADHYA PRADESH

PROVISIONAL POPLUATION TOTALS 7

Next important step as part of pre-census activities was finalisation of the Rural-Urban frame.
This exercise helped to prepare a complete up to date list of Statutory and Census Towns and
villages as urban and rural areas respectively. The demarcation of Out-Growths of Towns and
Urban Agglomerations was also taken up as a part of this exercise.
Overall 374 Statutory Towns, 112 Census Towns, 37 Urban Agglomerations and 86 Out Growths
were identiied in Census 2011 for the state of Madhya Pradesh.

CENSUS HOUSE NUMBER

To ensure complete coverage of all buildings and dwelling units, allotment of census house
numbers is an essential pre-requisite. All over the state house numbering was done before the
House Listing Operations with the help of district administration and local bodies. Darkening of
house numbering was again carried out before the Population Enumeration exercise to ensure
complete and proper coverage.

PREPARATION OF CHARGE REGISTER AND AHL

Charge register is the fundamental document for carrying out the census operations in a
charge by a Charge Officer. It contains the details of villages and towns along with their
ward, the enumeration blocks, names and phone numbers of the appointed enumerators
and supervisors. Housing enumeration blocks were carved for the first phase of house listing
operation keeping into account the jurisdictional boundaries of various administrative units.
These were later revised into Population enumeration blocks for the second and main phase
of population enumeration based on the number of census houses and population estimates
collected in the first phase. Abridged House List (AHL) was prepared for every enumeration
block which enlisted all census houses and their numbers covered during the first phase.
The AHL is the base document carried by an enumerator for population enumeration during
the second phase. Trainings for preparation of charge registers and AHLs were organized for
all charge officers and their assistants at the district level. Charge registers and AHLs were
thoroughly examined and corrected by the district officials and the directorate staff.

RGI AND PS(HOME) IN CONFERENCE ON CENSUS 2011 : IMPORTANCE AND UTILITY FOR GOVERNMENT STAKEHOLDERS
8

Overview of Census 2011

CARTOGRAPHY AND GEOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION SYSTEM
Census is an authentic source of political and administrative geography. The Cartographic
Division of the Census Organisation has evolved over the years and is now the largest
producer of thematic maps in the country. It has come a long way from the traditional manual
cartographic methods used until 1981 and now utilizes the latest GIS software to produce digital
maps. Directorate has a fully equipped Map Division with latest GIS (Geographical Information
System) software. A new effort in Census 2011 was the preparation of digital map of Bhopal
city, upto the level of streets and buildings, using satellite imagery. This digital map was used
to carve out the enumeration blocks in the city.
5 new districts, 83 new tahsils and several new villages and towns have come up since 2001.
Maps of all the administrative units were obtained and updated by incorporating the changes.
In addition to the above, the print outs of digital maps with boundaries of villages and towns
were provided to all the Charge Officers to help them demarcate their enumeration blocks and
supervisory circles. This eliminated any omissions or duplications of areas.

NOTIFICATIONS REGARDING CONDUCT OF CENSUS 2011

The Census of India is conducted under the provisions of the Census Act, 1948 and the Census
Rules, 1990. The statute requires the notification of various processes under provisions of
the Act and its Rules. Accordingly, various orders and statutory provisions have been duly
notified in the Gazette of India as well as in the Gazette of Madhya Pradesh after following the
processes laid down. The various Notifications are listed below:
Notification regarding the intention of the Government of India to conduct a Census of the
population of India in 2011 was published in the Gazette of India on 20th February 2009 and in
the Gazette of Madhya Pradesh on 5th May 2009
In the same Notification, the Reference Date was also notified as 00.00 hours of the first
day of March 2011 (except for the snow-bound areas of Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh
and Uttarakhand). In the snow bound areas of Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and
Uttarakhand the Reference Date was notified as 00.00 hours of the first day of October 2010.
Notification regarding the conduct of House listing and Housing Census from 1st April 2010
to 30th September 2010 in different States and Union Territories was published in the Gazette
of India on 25th February 2010.
Simultaneously, the Notification regarding the conduct of House listing and Housing Census
in Madhya Pradesh from 7th May to 22nd June 2010 and the questions to be canvassed was
published in the Gazette of Madhya Pradesh on 12th April 2010.
Notification regarding the conduct of National Population Register (which was also done
along with the House Listing Operations) in Madhya Pradesh from 7th May to 22nd June 2010
was published in the Gazette of Madhya Pradesh on 12th April 2010.
The Notification regarding the questions to be canvassed in the Population Enumeration
was published in the Gazette of India on 31st August 2010 and in the Gazette of Madhya
Pradesh on 21st September 2010.

PROVISIONAL POPLUATION TOTALS 9

NATIONAL POPULATION REGISTER

Canvassing for National Population Register (NPR) was done alongwith the first phase of Housing Census. NPR has legal
provisions under the Citizenship Act, 1955 and the Citizenship (Registration of citizens and issue of National Identity
Cards) Rules, 2003. NPR is based on Local Register of Usual Residents (LRUR) for every village and ward and is designed
to include every usual resident of the country with the help of fifteen fields of information, along-with photographs,
bio-metric prints of ten fingers and iris scan of both eyes, to be captured as per UID standards. Based on this data,
the residents would be issued an MNIC (Multi-purpose National Identity Card) with UID number (issued by the UID
authority). The MNIC would also contain 5-10 other official numbers like driving license, PAN card, NREG job cards,
ration cards etc. Approximately 1.60 crore schedules of NPR were canvassed during the first phase of census in Madhya
Pradesh, which have been scanned in the directorate and are ready for the capture of photographs and biometrics to be
executed by the Department of Information Technology (DIT). In addition, permanent NPR centres are being planned for
all tahsils and municipal bodies of the state.

PRINTING
A feature that makes the Indian Census particularly complex is that the schedules are canvassed
in 16 languages and the Instruction Manuals are developed in 18 languages. Since Madhya
Pradesh is a Hindi speaking state, all the census material viz. Instruction Manuals, Abridged
House list, Household Schedules for National Population Register, Houselisting and Housing
Census Schedules, Household Schedules for Population Enumeration and other census material
were printed in Hindi language.
All the schedules required for the state were printed centrally in high end presses having
facility of variable printing and very high production volumes. Other census materials were
printed in the Central Government Press in Faridabad and in the State Government Press of
Madhya Pradesh.

10

Overview of Census 2011

LOGISTICS
As regards the transportation of material, a pioneering initiative of using the India Post for
handling the logistics was undertaken. A special Logistics Post arrangement was put in place
by India Post for Census 2011. In Madhya Pradesh the schedules used for canvassing of census
were printed in the high-end presses and dispatched directly to the charges. The other census
material were dispatched by the Directorate of Census Operations through local arrangements.
The return dispatch of all the material was received back in the Directorate from the charges
through Indian Post.

1.7 CENSUS CO-ORDINATION AND MANAGEMENT

Successful census operations require timely and effective co-ordination at state, district,
village and ward levels. For this purpose various committees and census working groups were
constituted.

STATE LEVEL
Liaisoning with various departments of the State Government was made possible with the
help of a committee under the chairmanship of Chief Secretary, constituted with Principal
Secretaries and Secretaries of different departments of the State Government as members.
Other invited members included the State Representative of UNICEF. Concomitant circulars for
census planning, budget, management, human resources, training and publicity were issued by
the departments of Home Affairs, Finance, General Administration, Health, Education, Urban
development, Forest, Rural Development, PRIs and Social Welfare.

DISTRICT LEVEL
District Census group was constituted under the chairmanship of Collector for proper
management of census operations at the district level. Heads of different departments of
district administration including Chief Executive Officer of Zila Panchayat, District Planning
Officer, District Education Officer, Deputy Directors of different departments, Sub-Division
Officers, Charge Officers and Civil Society Organisations (CSO) were members. Weekly meetings
were held to review the census work.

VILLAGE/WARD LEVEL
Census groups at Village and Ward level were constituted to provide the element of community
participation, local wisdom and popular support to census operations at the grass roots. The
group in a village was headed by the Sarpanch of Gram Panchayat with members including
members of the Village Development Committee, Forest Committee (in forest areas), Project
Committee (wherever there are development projects), Self Help Groups, village level workers
like Patwari (local revenue official), Secretary of Village Panchayat, Asha, Anganwadi Workers
and Village Kotwar (local watchman). In wards of urban bodies the members included the
Ward Counsellors, Secretaries of Housing Societies and Ward Officials.

1.8 STATE LEVEL WORKSHOPS

Three state level workshops were organized with support of the State office of UNICEF. The
workshops helped involve stakeholders like State Government Departments, Civil Society
Organisations (CSOs), and Media for their active participation in Census 2011. First workshop
on Role of Civil Societies in Census was held on 26th October,2010 which was attended by
PROVISIONAL POPLUATION TOTALS 11

CSOs working in the state and helped evolve strategies for coverage of deprived sections like
people with disabilities, shelterless and nomadic population, primitive tribes and people living
in forest areas or urban slums in Census 2011. Second workshop on Census 2011: Importance
and Utility was held on 21st January, 2011 for government stakeholders which was presided
over by the Registrar General and Census Commissioner, India and Principal Secretary (Home)
to State Government and was attended by Principal Secretaries/ Secretaries of different
departments of the State Government and District Census Officers. Third workshop on Role
of Media in Census was held on 4th February, 2011 to sensitize the media on the importance
of census and to discuss the role in educating the people at large about census.

1.9 CAPACITY BUILDING of census functionaries

Need for comprehensive capacity building of all functionaries, especially of enumerators and
supervisors can hardly be underscored for successful taking of census. A three tier cascade of
training was devised for this purpose. At the top of the pyramid was a group of six National
Trainers (NTs) in the state of Madhya Pradesh. This group was rigorously trained at the national
level for 5 days at a residential training camp. The NTs trained 45 Master Trainer Facilitators
(MTFs) at the State level. Half of the NTs and MTFs were drawn from CSOs, which functioned
under the banner of Centre for Advanced Research and Development (CARD). The MTFs in
turn, trained 3,340 Master Trainers (MTs) at the District level. The MTs ultimately trained 1.5
lac enumerators and supervisors at the charge level.
Special efforts were made to improve the Instruction Manual by including more illustrations and
examples. Training Guides were prepared to help the trainers impart quality training. Trainers at
each level nation, state and district levels were given intensive in-house training and provided
training aids, such as power point presentations, e-learning modules, scripts of role plays and
practice sheets. Special training modules were developed for explaining the issues related to
disability and gender. Another special training effort was made in development of training
modules for gender sensitive districts. In addition, CSOs working in the field of disability and
gender were associated with Census 2011 for training the trainers at all the levels.
It was felt that sensitization of census functionaries towards various important social issues was
equally important in improving the quality of census enumeration. For this purpose, two films
on disability and migration were specially produced by the Directorate of Census Operations,
in collaboration with CSOs - Arushi and Aid-et Action respectively. In addition an e-learning
module with role-plays in animation was prepared by the Office of RGI was extensively used
in all trainings. These films and e-module were much appreciated during the training classes
at all levels. Live appeals and demonstration for sensitization towards enumeration of the
people with disabilities was effectively done with the help of Arushi and other CSOs. Similarly
Arambh, another CSO, shared their expertise for the enumeration of shelterless in urban
areas. Arushi and Arambh covered all the division level trainings and various other district
level trainings.
It needs to be mentioned that the entire training strategy was a collaborative effort between
the UN Agencies (UNFPA, UNICEF, and UNDP) on one hand and Census Organisation on the
other. State office of UNICEF played a key role for the state of Madhya Pradesh in this regard.

12

Overview of Census 2011

GENDER SENSITIZATION
Gender disaggregated data is the basis for gender sensitive policy formulation and programme
planning. The need for gender statistics in formulating policies and programmes can hardly be
over-emphasized.
Conceptually, information collected in Census is gender neutral and compiled and tabulated for
both men and women separately. The Questionnaire and Instruction Manual for collection of
information in the field have been carefully designed to avoid any bias on the basis of gender.
The training of Census functionaries also focuses on this aspect of neutrality.
Gender sensitivities like age at marriage, marital status, literacy and economic activities in
unorganized and unpaid work are important characteristics for coverage during census. In all
the 16 Gender critical districts of Madhya Pradesh, specially trained gender MTFs (GMTFs)
trained the MTs and census field staff.

1.10 TRAINING PLAN FOR FIRST PHASE

STATE LEVEL TRAINING
State level training was conducted at
state headquarter by the Directorate on
27th March, 2010 in which Municipal
Commissioners & Principal Census
Officers of Municipal Corporations,
Divisional Census Officers, District
Census Officers, additional District
Census Officers & City Census Officers
participated. The training was imparted
by the expert faculty of trained NTs

DISTRICT LEVEL TRAINING

District level trainings were held at district headquarters between 5th to 10th April 2010 for
Charge Officers and 12th to 17th April 2010 for Master Trainers (MTs). In this training of three
days duration, two days were reserved for House Listing Operation and one day for National
Population Register. Collector & Principal Census Officers, District Census Officers, additional

The Night
Count
Night of February 28 and wee
hours of March 1st, 2011 is
the last leg of the census and
is reserved for the head count
of people living on streets or
the houseless like beggars,
rag

pickers,

construction

workers and nomadic tribes.

All census officials were in
the field through out
night

teaming

up

the
with

enumerators for inclusion of

such people in Census 2011.
PROVISIONAL POPLUATION TOTALS 13

District Census Officers, City Census Officers, Charge Officers and Master trainers were trained
in this way. The trainings were conducted by the faculty of trained National Trainers (NTs) and
MTFs drawn from the Directorate and CARD (CSO).

CHARGE LEVEL TRAINING

Charge level trainings for enumerators and supervisors were organised at charge headquarters
between 22nd April and 5th May 2010. The three days training was given by the MTs which
included two days for the House Listing Operation and one day for NPR.

1.11 TRAINING PLAN FOR SECOND PHASE

STATE LEVEL TRAINING
State level training was conducted by the Directorate at the state headquarter on 4th December
2010 for Divisional Census officers, Municipal Commissioners and Principal Census Officers of
Municipal Corporations, District Census Officers, additional District Census Officers and City
Census Officers. A separate state level training was organized for Special Charge Officers at
state headquarters on 26th November 2010. The trainings were conducted by the faculty of
trained NTs.

DIVISION LEVEL TRAINING

Division level trainings were held at the divisional headquarters from 8th to 27th December
2010 in which Divisional Commissioners, Collectors and Principal Census Officers, Municipal
Commissioners and Principal Census Officers, Divisional Census Officers, District Census
Officers, additional District Census Officers, City Census Officers & Charge Officers were
trained. The Divisional trainings were organized by the Directorate with the active support of
state office of UNICEF. The trainings were conducted by the faculty of trained NTs and MTFs.

DISTRICT LEVEL TRAINING

District level trainings were held at the district headquarters during 5th and 13th January 2011.
The Charge Officers and MTs were trained in this three day training by the faculties of trained
NTs and MTFs.

CHARGE LEVEL TRAINING

Charge level trainings were held at the charge headquarters from 15th to 31st January 2011.
All the enumerators and supervisors were trained for three days by the MTs. The census field
staff took Census Oath after collecting the census material on 4th or 5th February 2011 and
assumed duties of their allotted EBs.

1.12 VILLAGE/ WARD CENSUS PLAN

It was felt that community wisdom with the help of peoples participation would enhance quality
and coverage in census. To this end, Village and Ward Census Groups prepared Village/ Ward
Census Plans in all villages and wards of the state. Vital local information like various habitations
in village/ ward, people with disabilities, Schedule Caste/Schedule Tribe population, nomadic
population, institutional households and houseless persons were mentioned in the Village/
Ward Census Plans. This also helped to garner local support for the census enumerators.

14

Overview of Census 2011

1.13 COMMUNICATION PLAN

Detailed district and charge level Communication Plans were prepared in the state. The plans
helped ensure timely communication of census related information for effective monitoring and
supervision. The plans consisted of two parts. One part comprised of mobile phone numbers of
all census enumerators and supervisors. The other part comprised of mobile phone numbers
of local residents who provided information about census coverage in their locality.
The Communication Plans were operationalised by control rooms which were set up at all
levels, from the Directorate to the districts and municipal corporations to charges. Control
rooms were equipped with all communication facilities like telephones, faxes and computers
with internet facilities. The plans were very successful in collecting and relaying information
from the field about operations management and helped in redressal of complaints in real time

USE OF SMS FOR CENSUS FUNCTIONARIES

Mobile phone numbers of census field staff collected with the help of Communication Plans
were intensively used to send important messages to all the census functionaries using bulk
Short Message Service (SMS) through a free service (way2SMS) from the Directorate of
Census Operations. At one go, the directorate was able to relay information to all the census
functionaries at the division, district, charge and supervisor level. On similar lines districts
followed the method of communication with their enumerators.

1.14 PUBLICITY and Media plan

NATIONAL LEVEL
All modes of Publicity - Mass media, Public relations, Outreach activities and Digital media
were used to spread awareness and ensure the cooperation of all stakeholders. A scientific
media plan was designed by a professional agency that also created the media content in both
the phases of the Census. While the general theme was that of including everybody without
omission, special emphasis was laid on vulnerable groups like women, elderly, disabled, infants,
homeless and primitive tribes in forest and remote areas. Celebrity endorsements were also
broadcast.

Census of
Primitive Tribes
Patalkot region comprises twelve
villages and thirteen hamlets
located in deep depression of a
valley where ridges separate the
villages. Located in Tamia tahsil of
Chhindwara district, the region is
predominantly inhabited by the
Gonds and the primitive Bharia
tribes. The villages in this region
can be visited by foot through a
narrow trail that goes down the
steep hills.

PHOTO COURTESY : UNICEF

PROVISIONAL POPLUATION TOTALS 15

STATE LEVEL
Media and publicity plan was prepared at the Directorate and all the districts of the state, using
separate strategies for rural and urban areas.

Tumhara haq hai,

tum ginti mein aao
Jo bhi ho, Jaise bhi
ho, naam likhao
Gulzar

Appeals to general public for co-operation in census were issued by His Excellency the Governor
and Honourable Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh and were published on the first day of
operations during both the phases of Census 2011.
In order to create popular awareness about census in public, appeals from national and state
level brand ambassadors were used in creatives and designs of publicity material, while their
endorsements were broadcast on radio and television. Mr. Gulzar (poet and lyricist) rendered
a special couplet for Census 2011 in Madhya Pradesh, and appealed for the enumeration of
people with disabilities.
Theme based posters, banners, stickers and hoardings were prepared with help of a professional
agency, Madhyam (State Publicity Corporation) and support of the state office of UNICEF.
They were extensively used in cities and villages, on airports, railway and bus stations, on
public transport, government and private vehicles and ATM machines (Punjab National Bank)
for creating mass awareness.
Census 2011 also made use of internet social networking sites like Facebook, Twitter and
YouTube to make available census related information for the net-savvy sections of society.
Directorate launched its own website, set up Madhya Pradesh census page on Facebook and
started a channel on YouTube with census related videos.
A special video spot on people with disabilities was prepared in collaboration with Arushi
and UNICEF. Various other audio and video spots were produced and broadcast over All India
Radio, local FM channels and Doordarshan. The spots were adopted nationally and broadcast
in all Hindi speaking states. These were also used on cable television networks and cinema
halls across the state. Talk shows were organised in the studios of All India Radio, FM channels,
Doordarshan and Gyan Darshan (IGNOU radio channel)
Mobile telephone networks were used to send bulk Short Message Service (SMS) with
census slogans to mobile phone users for mass awareness about census enumeration with
complementary support of mobile companies like BSNL, Airtel, Reliance and Tata Indicom.
Census slogans were also printed on electricity bills with the support of electricity distribution
companies, and census stickers were pasted on packets of milk products by the State Milk
Federation.
In the parade and celebrations held on the Republic day in the State Capital as well as in many
districts, census tableaus depicting various themes of Census of 2011 were displayed.
The directorate also organized a car rally for the blind at Bhopal in collaboration with Arushi
and other sponsors of the event like Sight savers. The rally was unique in that while the cars
were driven by volunteers of Bhopal city in their own vehicles, the blind people - who came
from all over the state - were navigators and were given codes in Braille to chart the rally route.
A photo exhibition on disability with Gulzars couplets was displayed at various locations in
Bhopal city, including the Secretariat and the Vidhan Sabha. The events were well covered in
the media and helped in enumeration coverage of people with disabilities in Census 2011.

DISTRICT, CHARGE AND VILLAGE LEVELS

Lots of events across the state in various districts and charges were organized to create mass
16

Overview of Census 2011

awareness about Census 2011, like talk shows on radio and television, car and cycle rallies,
street plays, marathons, kavi-sammelans, quizzes, debates and essay writing competitions
for school and college students etc. Many more were done during the Census Week from 26th
January to 2nd February. Rallies for enumeration of people with disabilities were organised
in Indore, Gwalior, Jabalpur and many other places by the district administration. A special
mention may be made of Sehore for exemplary efforts made by the census team in the district.
Census was listed as an important agenda item of the Gram Sabha meetings held on the
occasion of the Republic Day, 26th January, 2011. Block level conferences of members of PRIs
(Panchayati Raj Institutions) were also organised in all the blocks of the state during December
2010 and January 2011 to sensitize them about Census 2011.
Janganana Suchana Khidki (census information windows) were set up in Haat Bazars (rural
markets) and fairs (melas) all over the state to convey information about census to rural folk.
Wall writing of census slogans and public announcements were extensively used in both urban
and rural areas.

1.15 CENSUS IN SCHOOLS

A new initiative of Census in Schools was launched across the country. Purpose of this
programme was to make the children aware about the census enumeration of their families and
neighborhoods and also to expose them to the significance of census data in the development
of the country. The programme covered about 60 to 80 schools in each of the 640 Districts in
the country and was specifically designed for participation by the students of the entire school
in general and the students of class VI, VII and VIII in particular.
In Madhya Pradesh the original kits received from the office of Registrar General of India
were sent to all the Head Start Schools along-with a census media CD with power-point
presentations, census e-learning module and audio-video spots for organizing activities in the
schools. The Commissioner of Rajya Shiksha Kendra, Govt. of Madhya Pradesh in turn replicated
the kits and sent them to all 1.15 lac primary and middle schools of the state.

1.16 Changes in the Houselisting and Housing Census

Schedules
The attempt at every Census is to maintain continuity in order to allow comparisons and give
a time series of data. However, every Census also permits a few changes in keeping with the
demands of stake holders. The changes made in Census 2011 are as follows:
(i) Type of wall: A differentiation has been made between stone packed with mortar and
stone not packed with mortar. The Codes in Census 2011 are:
Census 2001

Code

Census 2011

Code

Grass/thatch/bamboo

Grass/thatch/bamboo

Plastic/polythene

Plastic/polythene

Mud/ unburnt brick

Mud/unburnt brick

Wood

Wood

GI/metal/asbestos sheets

Stone packed with mortar

Burnt Brick

Stone not packed with mortar

Stone

GI/metal/asbestos sheets

Concrete

Burnt Brick

Any Other

Concrete

Any Other

PROVISIONAL POPLUATION TOTALS 17

(ii) Type of roof: The Codes for material of roof have been modified by distinguishing handmade tiles from machine made-tiles. The codes used in Census 2011 compared to the Census
2001 are given below:
Census 2001

Code

Census 2011

Code

Grass/thatch/bamboo/wood/
mud etc.

Grass/thatch/bamboo/wood/mud
etc.

Plastic/polythene

Plastic/polythene

Tiles

Hand made tiles

Slate

Machine made tiles

GI/metal/asbestos sheets

Burnt brick

Brick

Stone

Stone

Slate

Concrete

GI/metal/asbestos sheets

Any Other

Concrete

Any other

(iii) Main source of drinking water: The heading of the question has been changed from
Drinking water source to Main source of drinking water. Drinking water cannot be
classified as safe or unsafe without proper testing. However an attempt has been made for
improving the categorisation of the sources of drinking water through provision of separate
codes for tap water from treated source and tap water from untreated source. The set
of codes as used in Census 2011 and the corresponding Census 2001 Codes are as follows:
Census 2001

Code

Census 2011

Drinking Water Source

Code

Main Source of Drinking Water

Tap

Tap water from treated source

Handpump

Tap water from untreated source

Tubewell

Covered well

Well

Un-covered well

Tank/pond/lake

Hand pump

River/canal

Tube well/borehole

Spring

Spring

Any Other

River/canal

Tank/pond/lake

Other Sources

(iv) Source of Lighting: The heading has been modified as Main Source of Lighting
(v) Bathing facility within premises: Realising that bathroom within the house was a
predominantly urban phenomenon, the heading has been changed as bathing facility within
the premises. Moreover, the categories have been expanded to include Enclosure without
roof. The code list for the Census 2011 along with codes as were in Census 2001 are given
below:
Census 2001

Code

Bathroom within the house

18

Census 2011

Code

Bathing facility available within premises

Yes

Bathroom

No

Enclosure without roof

No

Overview of Census 2011

(vi) Latrine: In Census 2001, information was sought on the availability of latrine within the
house; in Census 2011 it has been modified as available Within the premises. Attempt has
also been made to include other types of latrines. These categories are more in keeping with
the WHO/UNICEF categories. The set of codes as used in Census 2011 and the corresponding
Census 2001 Codes are as follows:
Census 2001

Code

Census 2011

No Latrine

Flush/pour flush latrine connected to

Code

Service Latrine

Piped sewer system

Pit Latrine

Septic system

Water Closet

Other system

Pit Latrine
With slab/Ventilated Improved Pit

Without slab/open pit

Night soil disposed into open drain

Service Latrine
Night soil removed by human

Night soil serviced by animals

No latrine within premises

Public Latrine

Open

(vii) Computer: This is a new question. Computer and internet penetration in the country is still
a matter of conjecture as there are no authentic sources for this data. The Census 2011 would
give rich data on this, which would be a vital input for policy planning. The codes for the new
question in Census 2011 are as follows:
Census 2011

Code

Computer/Laptop possessed
Yes
With Internet

Without Internet

No

(viii) Telephone: The scope of the question on Telephone has been expanded to separately include Mobile Phone also. With the rapid expansion of Mobile Phone coverage, traditional land line telephones have become less attractive. The present Census would give rich data on this aspect. The codes in Census 2011 are as follows:
Census 2001

Code

Telephone
Yes

No

Census 2011

Code

Telephone/
Mobile phone
1

Yes
Landline only

Mobile only

Both

No

PROVISIONAL POPLUATION TOTALS 19

Features of the Census 2011 Questionnaires

Forms designed by National Institute of Design, Ahmadabad
Each Form has a Bar Code and a distinct Number
Printed in select high-end Presses having capacity for digital printing
Special colours used to enable complete drop-out after scanning
Pre-printing of State and District Location Codes attempted for the first time
Facility for noting continuity made in the Form
Specification for Paper evolved in consultation with experts
Paper quality

1.17 NEW FEATURES IN HOUSEHOLD SCHEDULE

a) Pre-printing of Location particulars up to District: A highlight of Census 2011 was the
pre-printing of location codes up to District level and the use of shorter Location Codes in the
field. This reduced the burden on the Enumerators to an extent and improved compliance in
the writing of location Codes on every Schedule.
b) Printing of Bar Codes/ Form Number: The introduction of unique Form Number and
Bar Codes in each Schedule was a new feature. This greatly facilitated proper inventory
management and tracking of Schedules.
c) Colour Drop-Out: The colours chosen for printing the Schedule were such that they
dropped out totally after scanning. This is designed to facilitate considerable improvement in
Intelligent Character Recognition (ICR).
d) Edge Cut: Cutting one edge in the Schedule is designed to facilitate proper alignment of
Schedules during scanning.
e) Linking of Houselisting with Population Enumeration: A procedure to link the Housing
Census data of matched households to the Population Enumeration data has been attempted
for the first time.
f) Tracking system in case of more than one form is used: A provision to record the number
of the continuation forms used in the case of normal/Institutional households where more
than one Schedule has been used.
g) Description of Institutional Households: A provision has been made for recording the
description of Institutional households.
h) Gender: In a radical departure from the past, a provision has been made for the respondent
to return a gender other than male or female. This is an option to be exercised by the respondent
and not determined by the Enumerator.
i) Date of birth: A provision has been made to record age in completed years as well as date of
birth. This is expected to improve reporting of age at least among a section of the population.
j) Current marital status: Separate Codes have been assigned for Divorced and Separated.
k) Disability: The question on disability has been vastly enlarged in Census 2011. In
comparison to the 5 Codes in Census 2001, 8 Codes have been provided in the present Census.
The new Codes are: Mental Retardation, Mental Illness, Any Other and Multiple Disability.
The questions and the instructions have been finalised after extensive deliberation with civil
20

Overview of Census 2011

society organisations and the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment. Respondents with
multiple disability would now be able to report up to 3 disabilities for the first time.
l) Status of current attendance in educational institution: Separate codes have been given for
persons who have never attended any educational institution and persons who have attended
earlier. An additional code for recording persons attending special institution for the disabled
has also been added.
m) Worked any time during last year: The question on Work Status has been modified as
below:
Main Worker
If worked for 6 months or more
Marginal Worker
If worked for 3 months or more but less than 6 months
If worked for less than 3 months
Non Worker
If not worked at all
Such a classification would not only retain the older categorization of Main, Marginal and Non
Worker but would also offer richer data on the period of work.
n) Non-economic activity: A category of Others has been included to account for commercial
sex workers and persons involved in illegal activities. A new code for rentier has also been
introduced.
o) Migration: While processing of the Census 2001 data, it was found that the non-response
with respect to providing the district names was relatively more both in the question on
place of birth and place of last residence. It was felt that as the names of the districts might
have undergone a change, the respondent was unable to provide the correct names. Thus, in
Census 2011, an added item, namely, the name of village/town has been added in both these
questions.
p) Number of children born alive during last one year: Mention of the specific period 1st
March, 2010 to 28th February, 2011 on the body of the Schedule has been done.

QUESTIONS DROPPED
a) Household engaged in cultivation/plantation : The following question was canvassed in
Census 2001: Total net area of land under cultivation/plantation ; Net area of irrigated land
and Tenure status of land under cultivation/plantation. The question was canvassed but could
not be tabulated on account of widespread non-response. There were also other technical
problems like, variation in the units of measurment, comparability with other sources of data
namely, the Agricultural Census, land holding survey of the NSS, etc. Hence it was decided to
drop this questions in Census 2011.
b) A comparision of the questions proposed in Census 2011 with the questions canvassed in
Census 2011 is presented below.

PROVISIONAL POPLUATION TOTALS 21

Sl.
No

Census 2001

Census 2011

Remarks

1
2
3

Name of person
Relationship to head
Sex

Name of the person

Relationship to head
Sex

4
5

Age in completed years

Date of Birth

Current marital status

Current marital status

6
7
8
9
10

Age at marriage

Age at marriage

Seperate code for Divorced and

Seperated
No Change

Religion

Religion

No Change

Mother tongue

Mother tongue

No Change

Other languages known

Literacy status

Other languages known

Literacy status

No Change
No Change

11

Highest educational level attained

Highest educational level attained

No Change

12

Status of attendance in educational

institution

Status of attendance in educational

institution

Seperate Code for persons who have never

attended and who have attended before

13

Disability

Disability

14

Did the person work any time last year

Worked any time during last year

Question modified. Three questions instead

of one.
Additional code for two types of marginal
workers (3-6 months, less than 3 months)

No Change
No Change
Provision for returning a gender other than
male or female
Date of Birth in addition to age

For main or marginal worker

15
16
17
18

Category of economic activity

Occupation of the person
Describe in detail the nature of industry,
trade or service
Class of worker

Work category
Occupation
Nature of industry, trade or service

No Change
No Change
No Change

Class of worker

No Change

For marginal workers or non-workers

19

Record Code of non-economic activity

Non-economic activity

Adding a seperate code for rentiers

20

Is the person seeking/available for work

Seeking/available for work

No Change

21

For other workers

Journey to place to work
No Change
No Change

22

Distance from residence to place of work

in kilometers

23

Mode of travel to place of work (Code)

One way distance from usual

residence to place of work in
kilometers
Mode of travel to place of work (Code)

24

Birth place

Birth place

Name of village/town is also added

25
26

Place of last residence

Place of last residence

Name of village/town is also added

At the time of migration, was the place of

last residence Rural/Urban
Reason for migration of this person
Duration of stay in this village or town
since migration

At the time of migration, was the

place of last residence Rural/Urban
Reason for migration of this person
Duration of stay in this village or town
since migration

No Change

Number of children surviving at

present
Total no. of children ever born alive

No Change

Number of children born alive during

last one year

No Change

27
28

29

For ever married woman

Number of children surviving at present

30

Total no. of children ever born alive

31

32

33
34
22

For currently married woman

Number of children born alive during last
one year
For household engaged in cultivation/
plantation
Total net area of land under cultivation/
plantation
For currently married woman
Net area of irrigated land
Tenure status of land under cultivation/
plantation

No Change
No Change

No Change

Dropped

Dropped
Dropped

Overview of Census 2011

1.18 MONITORING and supervision

Honourable Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh wrote to all the Ministers, Members of
Parliament, Members of Legislative Assembly and Chair-persons of Zilla Panchayats to elicit
their participation for complete census coverage in the state. Similarly Honble Home Minister
wrote to all Mayors of municipal corporations and Chair-persons of municipal bodies.
The State Government issued circular for inspection of census in the field by Principal
Secretaries / Secretaries of various departments in all the districts of the state to ensure
quality and complete coverage. The senior officers inspected the census work in districts and
provided valuable guidance to Principal/ District census officers and their census field staff and
submitted their reports to the Department of Home Affairs. The operations were found to be
satisfactory.
The directorate has been in regular touch with the divisions, districts and charges by way of
video-conferences. As many as 16 video-conferences (VCs) were organized with support of
National Informatics Centre (NIC) for training on important issues and periodic monitoring
of census operations. Divisional census officers, Principal Census Officers (Collectors and
Municipal Commissioners), District and City Census Officers and Charge Officers attended the
VCs from time to time. Principal Secretary and Secretary of the Department of Home Affairs
presided over many of the VCs. Registrar General of India himself addressed the Collectors,
Municipal Commissioners and District Census Officers in one of them. The cause of census was
also taken up a few times in the monthly samadhan online and parakh video-conferences of
the Honble Chief Minister and the Chief Secretary of the state.
The districts deputed senior district officials as zonal officers and members of inspecting teams
for monitoring of census operations in the district. Gender MTFs from CSOs observed quality
in gender sensitive districts of the state. Senior officers of the Directorate were deployed in all
the divisions and trained directorate employees were stationed in all the district of the state
for hand-holding the census operations, proper monitoring and supervision.
The districts actively collaborated with CSOs during the course of the operations for quality
coverage of people with disabilities, homeless in urban and rural areas, primitive tribes in
remote and forest areas and the issues of gender and migration. CSOs like Arambh and their
sister organisations helped in enumeration of the homeless in municipal corporations of the
state. Similarly other CSOs like those under the banner of state Jan Abhiyan Parishad and
many others were involved in the coverage of census enumeration.

PROVISIONAL POPLUATION TOTALS 23

1.19 USE OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

The Directorate designed and implemented online Management Information System (MIS) on
its website with technical support of the state National Informatics Centre (NIC). The online
MIS made possible the monitoring of coverage progress of households in all enumeration
blocks of all the districts in the state twice a week. The periodic monitoring (every 3 days) was
effected with the help of the Communication Plans and control rooms established at charge
and district level. Periodic reports generated by the MIS were used for effective monitoring by
the directorate as well as districts and charges to ensure full and timely coverage.

DATA CENTRE FOR PROVISIONAL TOTALS

The online MIS was also used for entry of provisional census data after the completion of
Revisional Round. A data centre with adequate number of computers and broadband internet
connections was established at the district level where data of enumerator abstracts of all the
enumeration blocks were entered online. This helped to complete tabulation of provisional
census data and generation of census reports within a record time. The online data entry also
made possible the checking of provisional census figures by an expert team of senior officers
of the Directorate in real time.

1.20 CENSUS HELPLINE

In addition to the National help line, professionally run Call Centre was established at the
State level (toll free number 1800 210 1011) with support of UNICEF. The call centre was very
successfully used in clarifying doubts of the field census staff and in answering queries and
recording complaints of general public. Complaints were recorded on-line and district/ charge
level census officials ensured their redressal within 24 hours which was also entered on-line.
Agents at the call centre were properly trained before hand. Moreover, help desks and helplines were also established in charges and districts during the census operations.

1.21 innovations and NEW EFFORTS

A large number of innovation and new efforts were initiated by the Directorate in Census
2011. District and Village/ ward level Census Groups and Census Plans; Communication
Plans; Census call centre and help line; partnership with Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) in
census enumeration, publicity and trainings; GIS maps of administrative units and Bhopal city;
State Census Brand Ambassadors in IEC activities; Directorate web-site and use of internet
Social Networking sites like Face book and YouTube; production and use of audio-video
aids in trainings; Photo Identity Cards and Census Oath for census field staff; Field diary for
supervisors; Online MIS for census management and provisional totals; video-conferences for
monitoring; SMS for census workers/ officials and SMS with census appeals for mobile phone
users; inspections by Senior officers of Sate Government and collaboration with State UNICEF
office were all done for the first time in the census history of the state. These innovations also
made census operations in the state unique in many ways across the country.

1.22 Post Enumeration Survey

The Census Organisation since independence has traditionally been evaluating the results of the
Population Census through Post Enumeration Surveys (PES). No precise estimate of the extent
of error in the census count was ever made prior to independence. The objective of the PES is
to quantify the omission and duplication in the census enumeration, that is coverage error as
well as to measure the response error in respect of certain selected characteristics canvassed
24

Overview of Census 2011

at the census called content error. The results are of help in identifying areas that would need
attention such as concepts and definitions employed, procedures of enumeration and related
instructions to the field staff, etc. as well as in improving the conduct of future censuses. No
attempts, however, are made to adjust the census results based on the PES results.
During Census of India 2011, PES of both Houselisting Operations and Population Enumeration
has been proposed to be conducted separately after the conclusion of the respective phases.
The field work of the PES of the first phase, that is, Houselisting Operations has been completed
in Madhya Pradesh during 16 August to 15 September, 2010. The sampling frame used for
selection of samples for conducting the PES of this phase was the sampling units of the Sample
Registration System (SRS). A total of 86 SRS Units were selected for PES spread over the State.
Total number of Houselisting Blocks in each SRS Unit depended upon the population of SRS
Unit. Staff of Directorate of Census Operations conducted the field work and the enumerators
were specially trained for conducting the PES.
It is proposed to conduct the PES of the second phase of Census of India 2011, that is,
Population Enumeration in April and May 2011 in the state. A total of 239 Enumeration Blocks
of Population Enumeration has been selected for the purpose of estimating coverage error. For
measuring content error, 20 percent sub-sample of the selected enumeration blocks has been
selected. Department of Economics and Statistics, Government of Madhay Pradesh has agreed
to provide their staff for the field work and supervision. Intensive training will be imparted to
them before the field operation.

Net omission rates (per thousand persons) at the All-India level - by sex and
residence - are presented below:
Sex

Total

Rural

Urban

1981

1991

2001

1981

1991

2001

1981

1991

2001

Persons

18.0

17.6

23.3

15.0

16.8

16.8

27.6

19.8

39.8

Males

17.1

17.3

23.5

13.8

16.0

16.2

27.7

21.1

41.5

Females

18.8

17.9

23.1

16.3

17.7

17.5

27.5

18.3

37.9

PROVISIONAL POPLUATION TOTALS 25

1.23 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Census is one of the largest administrative exercises in our country and requires extensive
co-ordination and management on a monumental scale. I acknowledge the help, support and
co-operation of each of those people and dignitaries who helped to make it a success.
On the eve of commencement of the house listing operation and population enumeration His
Excellency, the Governor of Madhya Pradesh and the Honourable Chief Minister of Madhya
Pradesh issued appeals for the people of Madhya Pradesh to provide complete and correct
information in census. Honble CM also wrote to the Ministers, MPs, MLAs and Chair-persons
of Zilla Panchayats to elicit their participation in the census. Honble Home Minister of the state
in turn wrote to Mayors and Chair-persons of municipal bodies. I express my sincere gratitude
to them.
I am grateful to Chief Secretary, Mr Avani Vaish and Principal Secretary, Department of Home
Affairs, Mr Ashok Das (and earlier, Mr Rajan Katoch) for their unstinted guidance and support
to the successful completion of Census 2011 in the state.
My thanks to Additional Chief Secretary, Department of Forest; Principal Secretaries of the
Departments of Finance, General Administration, Education, Revenue, Labour and Tribal Welfare;
Chief Post Master General (CPMG) of the state; Secretaries/ Commissioners of Departments
of Rural Development, Urban Development, Social Welfare, Rajya Shiksha Kendra (SSA),
Revenue (and Controller Government Press), Public Relations, National Rural Health Mission,
Excise, Treasuries; Managing Directors of Milk Federation, Tourism Development Corporation,
Madhayam; Chairmen and Managing Directors of Electricity Distribution Companies; Chief
General Manager (BSNL); Regional Director (IGNOU); Regional Manager (Punjab National
Bank); Station Directors of All India Radio and Doordarshan and Deputy director (Press
Information Bureau) for extending support of their departments and organisations for census
operations. Thanks are also due to all the senior officers of State Government who toured the
state, inspected the field operations and provided valuable guidance to the district officials.
I am grateful to Secretary (Home) and Nodal Officer for Census 2011 for enabling co-ordination
with the State Government. Ms. Seema Sharma, Mr. Chandrahas Dube, Mr. V M Upadhyay
and Mr. Vijay Kataria officiated as nodal Officers from time to time. The longest tenure of Mr
Chandrahas Dube, his pragmatic and pro-active approach left a lasting impact on census. All
out support of all the nodal officers was of great help in the successful conduct of Census 2011
in the state.
Special thanks to State Information Officer (National Informatics Centre) and his dedicated
team who arranged the video conferences, hosted the website and designed the Census MIS
in a very short time.
This monumental task was made possible by the leadership and involvement of Divisional
Commissioners, District Collectors and Principle Census Officer, Commissioners of municipal
corporations and Principal Census Officers; and the hard work of Divisional Census officers,
District Census Officers, Additional District Census Officers, City Census Officers, Additional City
Census Officers, Charge Officers and Special Charge Officers. All MTFs, MTs, census enumerators
and supervisors must be appreciated for their pains taking efforts in the field.
I am indebted to Mr. Gulzar (poet & lyricist) and Ms Divyanka Tripathi (Actor) for complementarily
endorsing the mass publicity campaign as State Census Ambassadors. Their popular appeals
went a long way in eliciting support of one and all in the state.

26

Overview of Census 2011

I would like to express my heartfelt appreciation to the team of Arushi for their exemplary
commitment to the cause of disability and their active roles in trainings and publicity. I also
acknowledge the work of CARD during trainings and enumeration and the way they worked
hand-in-hand with the directorate. Thanks are also due to Arambh and many other CSOs
including the ones of Jan Abhiyan Parishad for their collaboration in population enumeration.
Appreciations are also extended to the mobile companies who relayed census appeals to all
their mobile phone users without charge.
My special thanks are due to UNICEF, the State Representative Ms Tania Goldner and Program
Officer (SPPME) Ms Veena Bandopadhyay for their active collaboration during the course of
census operations. Thanks are also for Mr. Anil Gulati of UNICEF for documentation and media
coverage.
My profound regards and gratitude are reserved for Dr. C Chandramauli, Registrar General
and Census Commissioner, India, for his leadership, guidance and constant encouragement at
every stage of this monumental task. I am also grateful to Mr. R C Sethi, Additional RGI; Mr. S K
Chakrabarti, DDG (NPR); Mr. Deepak Rastogi, DDG; Mr. C Chakravorty and Ms Suman Prashar,
Consultants, for their help from time to time. All the officers and staff of the Office of the
Registrar General and Census Commissioner, India deserve credit for their valuable support.
Lastly and importantly, dedication, enthusiasm and devotion to duty shown by the officers and
staff of the Directorate of Census Operations who toiled day and night to make this national
task a resounding success is really commendable. Mention may be made of Mr. S. L. Jain, Joint
Director, who managed the show in the state till the time I joined the organization in May 2010.
I extend my heartfelt appreciation to all my colleagues.

Bhopal
Dated: 4th April 2011

SACHIN SINHA

Director of Census Operations, Madhya Pradesh

PROVISIONAL POPLUATION TOTALS 27

28