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Polity & Governance
Mahesh

26/05/23 06:38 AM IST

India’s missing Census

In News
  • The 2021 Census had to be postponed because of the Covid pandemic, the first time in the 150-year history of India’s census operations that the exercise was not completed on time.
  • An annual report by the UN Population Fund revealed that India was all set to become the world’s most populous country by the middle of this year. It estimated that India’s population would be 1,428 million (or 142.8 crore) by that time, slightly ahead of China’s population of 1,425 million.
About Census
  • Population Census is the total process of collecting, compiling, analyzing and disseminating demographic, economic and social data pertaining, at a specific time, of all persons in a country or a well-defined part of a country.
  • Census is the basis for reviewing the country's progress in the past decade, monitoring the ongoing schemes of the government and plan for the future.
  • It provides an instantaneous photographic picture of a community, which is valid at a particular moment of time.
  • Population Census is the total process of collecting, compiling, analyzing and disseminating demographic, economic and social data pertaining, at a specific time, of all persons in a country or a well-defined part of a country.
  • Census is the basis for reviewing the country's progress in the past decade, monitoring the ongoing schemes of the government and plan for the future.
  • It provides an instantaneous photographic picture of a community, which is valid at a particular moment of time.
  • The Census was first started under British Viceroy Lord Mayo in 1872. It helped in framing new policies, government programs to uplift areas of improvement in the community.
  • The first synchronous census in India was held in 1881. Since then, censuses have been undertaken uninterruptedly once every ten years.
Benefits
  • Census data is utilized for demarcation of constituencies and allocation of representation in government bodies.
  • It plays a crucial role in determining the number of seats to be reserved for Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs) in Parliament, State legislatures, local bodies, and government services.
Source- Indian Express

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