The most recent census took place in India in 2011 and the ten-yearly enumeration exercise has been put off indefinitely since 2021. It is through census numbers that numerous welfare schemes, ranging from constructing schools for tribal children to the vast Public Distribution System (PDS) can identify beneficiaries. Therefore, not having a census would be catastrophic.
Even in Parliament, B.J.P coalition government always makes it clear that Census 2021 was postponed due to Coronavirus outbreak. By doing so, it became one of such nations only as 44 out of 233 countries have not held their last censuses. Out of these, leaders from189 or about eighty-one percent were able to carry out their latest rounds with one hundred and forty three conducting them after March 2020 when COVID-19 began haunting the world. Avoiding a population count puts India along with other conflict-bound states such as Ukraine (invaded by Russia), Yemen, Syria and Myanmar – affected by civil wars; Afghanistan under Taliban rule; Sri Lanka under an economic crisis among other sub-Saharan African countries that have experienced similar upheavals.
Chart 2 shows year of the last census carried out across 233 countries.
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India and Nigeria are among the top ten most populous countries without recent censuses. China and Indonesia conducted theirs in 2020 while US did in same year’s census round as well. Pakistan ranked fifth did her own census sometime around March this year (2023).
Out of BRICS nations [original definition], Census had taken place everywhere except India during or after pandemic: Brazil (August 2022), China (November 2020), South Africa (February 2022), Russia (October 2021). Censuses have been conducted by Nepal, Maldives Bhutan and Bangladesh among neighbours.
“In fact, there are many types of welfare schemes which encompass education programmes for the scheduled tribes and broad based Public Distribution System such as (PDS) that require identification of their beneficiaries” (Office of Registrar General and Census Commissioner, 2011).
Table 4 contains a sample of some surveys that use census data to select their samples or certain programs requiring updated population figures to determine the number of people who are entitled.
For example, consumption survey 2022-23 used 2011 census in sampling. Similarly, National Family Health Survey 2019-21 depended on the same data for highlighting areas where healthcare services are inadequate. The facts from 2011 are also being used by initiatives like National Food Security Act which finds out those in need of subsidized food grains. As per estimates by economists Jean Drèze, Reetika Khera and Meghana Mungikar, as many as one hundred million have been left out due to reliance on the 2011 figures making coverage still based only on this old census.
Many areas would be missed even by a smaller scheme like the Eklavya Model Residential School (EMRS) that seeks to offer quality education for ST children. The target was to have one EMRS school in every block with over 50% of the ST population by 2022. However, since the calculation was done on 2011 data, many blocks which met this criteria in 2022 might have missed it as well. Again, several blocks will receive an EMRS school that may not be needed at all anymore if they fitted into such earlier but no longer meet them in 2022.
