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General Studies-1; Topic: Population and associated issues

Population Census
Introduction
• India aspires to be a $10 trillion economy by 2035.
• To achieve this, conducting population Census, due in 2021 is necessary.
• The Census is necessary since it forms the basis of all the plans and programmes that the
government wants to implement.

Census in India
• India has a long history of conducting Census without interruption from 1881 with the rare exception
of Assam in 1981 and Jammu Kashmir in 1991 due to sociopolitical unrest and secessionist
movements.
• A regular Census at the national and sub-national levels has been a matter of pride for India.

Importance of Census
• Census data is essential for planning at the village or block level to usher in economic and social
development, ensure better governance, and increase the transparency of public schemes and
programmes.
• Migration data collected in the Census has great implications for economic activities and social
harmony.
• The Census counts everyone across regions, classes, creeds, religions, languages, castes, marital
status, differently-abled populations, occupation patterns etc.

Need for Census Data

• The district is the basic administrative unit for governing, planning, and executing government
projects and schemes.

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• In the absence of updated Census data, demographers estimate the annual population count at
the district level using past Census information.
• Demographic exercises give reasonably fair estimates when the year of population estimation is
within the range of a maximum of 10 years.
• Beyond this period, estimations can be erroneous.
• Using the growth rate of 2001-2011 for the period after 2021 becomes more of an assumption-
based model than a model that reflects empirical reality.
• The migration pattern in India in the present decade is very different from what the data in Census
2001 and 2011 suggest.
• Hence, in the absence of Census data, it is difficult to draw conclusions about migration in India.
• Most national-level surveys such as NFHS and NSSO do not have representative data at the
population subgroup level, unlike the Census.
• The existence of numerous faiths and languages as well as the expansion or extinction of such
communities will be known only via population Census.

Way Forward
• Conducting the population Census is a mammoth task. Full involvement of the government system
is necessary to organise it.
• Postponing the Census has immediate and long-term negative consequences for India.
• The government and other stakeholders should take urgent steps to conduct the Census as early
as possible.

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