Context

The Minsitry of Fnance announced that the upcoming Census 2021 is set to be the first digital census in the history of India and that the government has allocated over Rs 3,700 crore for the same.

About

What is Census?

• Population Census is the total process of collecting, compiling, analyzing or otherwise disseminating demographic, economic and social data pertaining, at a specific time, of all persons in a country or a well-defined part of a country.
• As such, the census provides snapshot of the country's population and housing at a given point of time.
• Responsible agency: The Census is conducted by the Office of the Registrar General and Census Commissioner, India, under the Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India.
• Duration: It is done every 10 years.
• First and last Census: The census was first conducted in 1872 during the British rule. The last census was done in 2011.
• First complete census: It was done in 1881.

The Census Act, 1948 The Census Act was enacted in 1948 to provide for the scheme of conducting population census with duties and responsibilities of census officers.

The first-ever digital census

• The 2021 census of India is set to begin in March 2021, after the previous census was undertaken in 2011 – marking India’s population at 1.21 billion back then
• The census will be conducted through a mobile application. The decision to move from the traditional pen and paper was taken to promote Digital India.
• The exercise is said to be carried out in 16 languages.

The Netherlands implemented its first virtual census in 1981 using the population register and surveys.