Daily News Analysis ‘Census 2027: Importance and Key Features ’ : 9 June

Why in News: 

• Census 2027 has commenced, marking India’s first Census in 15 years and the largest population enumeration exercise in the world.

Salient Features

• Census: Official and comprehensive count of population, households and socio-economic characteristics conducted by the Government of India.
• Census 2027: Eighth Census after Independence and first Census to be conducted digitally.
• Delay: Conducted after a 15-year gap instead of the usual 10 years due to COVID-19 and subsequent electoral processes.
• Two-Phase Exercise: Phase-I collects housing, amenities and asset data; Phase-II collects demographic, socio-economic and caste-related information.
• Digital Census: First-time use of digital data collection and online self-enumeration facilities.
• Self-Enumeration: Citizens can voluntarily fill details online before enumerator visits.

Importance of Census 2027

• Provides the most reliable database for policy-making, planning and governance.
• Forms the basis for welfare schemes related to food, housing, health, education, sanitation and social security.
• Helps identify deprived and vulnerable population groups for targeted benefits.
• Supports allocation of financial resources by the Finance Commission to States and local bodies.
• Provides critical data for infrastructure planning, urbanisation, migration and employment policies.
• Serves as the basis for future delimitation of constituencies.
• Important for implementation of 33% Women’s Reservation in legislatures after delimitation.
• Provides updated data for Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs) related policies and reservations.
• First Census after Independence expected to include a detailed caste enumeration.

Unique Features

• Expected to cover more than 146 crore people, making it the world’s largest population survey.
• Conducted under the Census Act, 1948, which ensures confidentiality of personal information.
• Uses mascots “Pragati” and “Vikas” symbolising inclusive development.
• Theme: “Our Census, Our Development.”
• More than 30 lakh census personnel are expected to participate in enumeration.