Avoid further delay in conducting the Census

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Last Updated10/01/2023

Recently, it was reported that the freezing of administrative boundaries that precedes the Census would be done with effect from July 1, 2023.
Such a freezing is necessary as State governments are in the habit of creating new districts and tehsils or reorganising existing ones.

For delimitation of constituencies
To determine the number of seats to be reserved: for SCs and STs in Parliament, State legislatures, local bodies, and government services.
Can provide population data for every village and town in the country.
Limitations of sample surveys: cannot be used to find answers to how many villages have literacy rates < 75% or which tehsils have a low % of people getting protected water supply that a census can provide.

Not clear whether govt is planning to synchronise house-listing operations: to reduce the interval between the freezing of boundaries and the actual Census enumeration.
No official statement about date of census: no information about when the Census would be conducted.
Lags in Constitution: Does not say what should be the periodicity of the census.
Census Act, 1948: provides the legal background for several activities relating to the Census without mentioning anything about its periodicity.

No accurate data at lower geographic levels: We have accurate population projections at the State and national level but, it is not feasible to get reliable projections at lower geographic levels eg. districts and cities.
No answers to various questions: on the improvement in literacy & educational levels, economic activity, migration, etc.
No accurate data for seat allocation: in case of panchayats & municipal bodies, reservation of seats for SCs/ STs is based on their population. Other than Census, no other source can provide this information.
Old data from 2011 Census would continue to be used: Many towns and panchayats have seen rapid changes in population over the last decade, it would mean that either too many or too few seats are being reserved.
Delimitation of parliamentary and Assembly constituencies: would continue to be based on 2001 Census till data from a Census after 2026 are published.
No accurate data of migration trends: Without a census there will be no accurate information about migration trends in various cities.
No precise information about deaths during the pandemic: Census would either validate or reject the various estimates of the number of deaths due to the pandemic.
Census and NPR: It was decided to collect data for National Population Register by piggybacking on the Census operations. As the Census has been delayed, it would be advisable to separate these two.