India has held its decadal censuses regularly from 1881 to 2011, only the year of COVID-19 is an exception. There remains little excuse to continually delay the decennial Census, an exercise that has been conducted without fail from 1881 to 2011.

India’s Census Status

• As of June 2024, out of 233 countries, India was one of 44 not to have conducted the Census this decade. 
• India shares this dubious distinction of not having a Census with countries affected by conflict,  (external or civil war), political instability, economic crises, or turmoil such as Yemen, Syria, Afghanistan, Myanmar, Ukraine, Sri Lanka, and sub-Saharan Africa.

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Extension of Census Deadline

• Even though India is not undergoing similar political and economic turmoil, the ostensible reason provided by the Union Home Ministry was a delay due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but 143 other countries conducted the Census after March 2020, which marked the onset of the pandemic.
• Yet, the deadline to freeze administrative boundaries of districts, tehsils, towns, and municipal bodies – a prerequisite before the conduct of the Census – lapsed on June 30 this year. This deadline has been extended 10 times since 2019.

What could be the reason behind the incessant delay?

• The Union government is reportedly considering expanding data collection in the upcoming Census to include caste enumeration, a move influenced by demands from various political parties.
  • Concerns Over Caste Enumeration in the Census: The push for including caste in the Census follows the unsatisfactory experience with the Socio-Economic and Caste Census of 2011. That effort produced unwieldy, inaccurate, and ultimately unusable data. Given these issues, there is a need for caution before implementing caste enumeration in the upcoming Census.
  • The Socio-Economic and Caste Census (SECC) of 2011 was conducted to gather detailed data on the socio-economic status of households across India, with the additional aim of identifying caste-based demographics. Its primary motive was to enable better-targeted delivery of government welfare schemes by identifying the socio-economic needs of various communities, especially marginalized groups.
  • The Socio-Economic and Caste Census (SECC) of 2011 revealed the presence of over 48 lakh caste categories due to variations and errors in how people reported their caste. For instance, some identified as Yadavs, others as Yadavj, and some misspelled it as Yadhav. Consequently, despite the completion of the data collection process, the data was unusable. This experience underscored the complexity of caste data collection, highlighting the need for proper training and rigorous data verification before the information can be effectively utilized.

Impact of Delay in Conducting Census

• Impact on policy-making: The schemes formulated by the Government are based on the data available to them. Now, the government has to resort to the 2011 data along with the data collected from various surveys but the data of these surveys is not as reliable as the census data. 
  • For example., the amount that needs to be allocated for the beneficiaries of the National Food Security Act can only be done once the census data is available. 
    • Only when the data is reliable, the government would be able to decide the amount that needs to be allocated for the food security programme. 
• Impact on Federal Structure: If the delay in conducting the Census is intentional, to prioritize delimitation in 2026, it could be detrimental not only to public policy but also to relations with the States.

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Importance of Conducting the Census

• With the 2011 Census data getting increasingly outdated and phenomena such as migration across and within States, the urbanization of Indian societies, and the suburbanization of cities becoming increasingly prominent in recent years, the lack of a Census is telling.
• Besides, statistical surveys that go into setting policy such as those related to household and social consumption, the National Family Health Survey, the Periodic Labour Force Survey, and the Sample Registration System, among others, use the Census to set their sampling frames.

Conclusion

There must first be a definite time frame to conduct the Census on a war footing. If the delay is deliberate, to allow for delimitation to be conducted first in 2026, this will be harmful not just to public policy but also to relations with States. To speed up the process, accurate technology can be used, states can cooperate and people can be made aware of its significance, then it might help gather correct information.