The much-delayed decadal census exercise and updating of the National Population Register (NPR) are set to begin early next year and are expected to change the future census cycles totally, official sources informed. The data will be announced in 2026.
However, whether caste census will also be carried with general census is yet to be decided.
The country's population count has been conducted every 10 years since 1951, but the census work in 2021 could not be carried out due to the COVID-19 pandemic. So far, no formal announcement has been made on its next schedule.
"In all probability, the work for the census and the NPR will begin early next year and the population data will be announced by 2026. With this, the census cycle is likely to be changed. So, it will be 2025-2035 and then 2035-2045 and so on in future," sources privy to the thinking of the government said.
The Office of the Registrar General and Census Commissioner had prepared 31 questions to be asked to the citizens during the census exercise.
These questions include whether the head of the household belongs to Scheduled Caste or Scheduled Tribe and other family members as asked in the previous census.
Opposition Congress and the RJD are among the political parties which have been demanding a caste census so that the total OBC population in the country is known.
It is to be seen whether the government will go ahead with the delimitation exercise, which is due in 2026, after the census data is published.
Several political leaders from southern states have expressed their apprehensions over the possibility of their states losing out on Lok Sabha seats and thereby their political clout as they have been successful in population control, unlike the Northern states.
They feel that the southern states may get less number of Parliamentary seats than the existing number of constituencies if the delimitation is carried out with the new data.
On the other hand, the Article 82 of the Constitution states: "Provided also that until the relevant figures for the first census taken after the year 2026 have been published, it shall not be necessary to readjust the allocation of seats in the House of the People to the States as readjusted on the basis of the 1971 census".
It means if census is conducted in 2025 and data published in 2026, delimitation exercise cannot be carried out based on 2025 census data. If it happens, then the Article 82 has to be amended.
The 31 questions to be asked to each family under the census exercise include the total number of persons normally residing in the household, whether the head of the household is a woman, the number of dwelling rooms exclusively in possession of the household, the number of married couple(s) living in the household among others.
The census of India is recorded every decade, with the first one being held in 1872. The first census post-Independence was recorded in 1951 and the last one in 2011.
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