Watch Free Classes
UPSC » Daily News Analysis ‘Census in India’: 24 June

Daily News Analysis ‘Census in India’: 24 June

The last census in India was conducted in 2011, and the 2021 census has been postponed.

Table of Content

About Census: 

  • The census refers to collecting, compiling, evaluating, and disseminating demographic, economic, and social data for all people in a country or region at a specific time.
  • India has conducted a census every 10 years since 1872, though the first synchronous census was in 1881.
  • The census was conducted under the Census Act of 1948.
  • The Ministry of Home Affairs, through the Office of the Registrar General and Census Commissioner, conducts the census every ten years.
  • Constitutional Provision: Union List Entry 69 and Article 246.
  • The census in India is conducted in two phases:
    • House Listing and Housing Census
    • Population Enumeration
  • Latest Census: 2011; the COVID-19 outbreak caused a delay in the 2021 census.

Why in the News?

  • The last census in India was conducted in 2011, and the 2021 census has been postponed.