Rama Krishna Sangem
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is planning two big things in the next four years – One conducting the census along with caste details in 2025 ; Two, to complete the delimitation of Lok Sabha and assemblies seats by 2026 so that general elections will be held with the new seats in 2028 or 29. A major change in Indian politics is that there will be Women’s Reservations -33 per cent – in parliament and assemblies from now on.
The central government is likely to begin the population census exercise in 2025 and conclude it in a year after a four-year-long delay, reported India Today, citing sources. After the completion of the Census of India, the delimitation exercise of Lok Sabha seats will begin, which may be over by 2028. As per original schedule, census should have been conducted in 2021. But, due to Covid the process has been postponed.
Inclusion of sub-sects within general and SC-ST categories
The next population census of India will be performed with a few improvisations. As per India Today, next year’s census will keep a detailed account of the population of subsects within the General and SC-ST categories. Normally, the population census data is gathered based on categories like religion and social class and counts of General, Scheduled Castes, and Scheduled Tribes.
The National Population Register (NPR) was scheduled to be updated as a part of the Census of India from April 1 to September 30, 2020. But the census was put on hold because of the COVID pandemic, which led to nationwide lockdowns and lakhs of deaths, many of which went unrecorded.
The population census operation continues to be on hold, and the government has not yet officially announced the new schedule. Amid the delay in the census exercise, several opposition parties have also targeted the Centre for not taking any decision on the matter.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah hinted at the government’s decision on the Census of India in August, saying that “it will be carried out at an appropriate time”. Shah also said he would announce how it would be done once the details were decided.
The population census of India is conducted every 10 years to collect, compile, analyse, and disseminate demographic, economic, and social data.
The Indian census data is updated every year and was set to be done last in 2020. It began in 1872 when the first census was conducted in different parts of India. The population census is conducted by the Office of the Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India under the Ministry of Home Affairs.
Indian population is expected to touch 150 core, placing it ahead of all other countries in the world.
