India is likely to begin the delayed Census exercise soon and complete it within 18 months.
The final Census report is expected by late 2026 or 2027, marking a 16-year gap since the last Census in 2011.
COVID-19 is cited as the main reason for the delay.
Population and Demographic Changes:
India has surpassed China in population, as per a UN report.
Significant demographic changes have occurred, such as affluent areas in Delhi still being classified as rural in 2011.
Concerns arise over operating without updated data for years.
Even with decennial censuses, (The decennial census is a census that is conducted every ten years) discrepancies between reality and data exist due to the high costs of conducting such surveys.
Conducting censuses more frequently would allow for dynamic policy adjustments in areas like health and socioeconomic studies.
The writer supports “register-based” and “dynamic” censuses, which could provide real-time data.
India was reportedly preparing software to automatically update census data (e.g., registering individuals as voters at age 18).
Countries like Austria, Denmark, Singapore, and others are moving toward register-based censuses using data from administrative registers.
Such censuses are cost-effective and produce statistics from government sources, complemented by small-scale surveys.
Austria’s 2011 register-based census cost €10 million, significantly lower than the €72 million for the 2001 traditional census.
The UK plans to replace decennial censuses with real-time data collection from administrative sources after 2021.
The UK government uses data from sources like supermarket scanners and vehicle information for official statistics.
Aadhaar-Centric Database in India:
India already has an Aadhaar-centric database, unlike the UK.
The Home Minister suggested merging databases like voter ID, Aadhaar, and others into the Census database.
Challenges of Database Integration:
Integrating various registers (Aadhaar, PAN, voter ID, etc.) is complex but feasible.
Successful integration could save the country substantial costs.
A census provides data on economic activities, literacy, urbanization, migration, and more.
While real-time updates might not cover all areas, small-scale surveys can fill data gaps.
Future of Dynamic Censuses:
India could move towards dynamic, continuous censuses, marking the potential end of complete enumeration-based censuses.
This would be a significant legacy of Digital India.
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