Census first phase, NPR data collection put off till September

• The first phase of the census and collection of details to update the National Population Register (NPR) have been postponed at least till September.

Census:

• The census provides information on size, distribution and socio-economic, demographic and other characteristics of the country’s population.
• 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.

Who conducts census?

• The responsibility of conducting the decennial Census rests with the Office of the Registrar General and Census Commissioner, India under the Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India.

The Census is one of the most credible sources of information on the following:

• Demography.
• Economic Activity.
• Literacy and Education.
• Housing & Household Amenities.
• Urbanization, Fertility, and Mortality.
• Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.
• Language.

How is NPR different from Census?

• The objective of the NPR is to create a comprehensive identity database of every usual resident in the country and it is “mandatory for every usual resident of India to register in the NPR.”
• While similar data is collected through Census, according to Section 15 of the Census Act, 1948, all individual level information collected in Census is confidential and “only aggregated data are released at various administrative levels.”
• The NPR was first compiled in 2010 and updated in 2015 and it already has a database of 119 crore residents.