Context:
Despite demands from several communities to be counted as a separate religion, the next Census will only count Hindu, Muslim, Christian, Buddhist, Sikh and Jain as distinct religion options.
The 2021 Census:
- Digital Census: Census 2021, which was to be conducted in two phases, has been postponed indefinitely, with the Central government initially attributing the delay to the COVID-19 pandemic.
- The next Census is also set to be the first digital Census, where respondents will have the option to fill in the questionnaire from the comforts of their own homes.
- No separate codes: Though respondents can additionally write the name of any other religion in the Census form, no separate code will be provided.
- Commuter queries: New queries about travel plan and metro usage have been added.
- A question on types and causes of disabilities has been expanded to include “acid attack, intellectual disability, chronic neurological disease and blood disorder.
- A code directory is added to streamline data processing.
News Source: The Hindu
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