Explainer: What is the discourse about the Census and the NPR?

India is looking forward to the next and most-awaited census, following the last one conducted in 2011. While the Census is conducted to determine the demographics of Indian citizens, the Indian government announced in 2020 that it would conduct a door-to-door survey to determine the ordinary residents of India from April 2020 to September 2020 (National Population Register-NPR).

However, there has been a long debate and a state of confusion over the differences between the Census and the National Population Register (NPR). In the simplest terms, NPR is the Register that contains the details of persons who usually reside in a village, rural area, town, ward or demarcated area within a ward in a town or urban area. The NPR was first prepared in 2010 and was updated in 2015.

As per the government, the objective of the NPR is to create a comprehensive identity database of every usual resident in the country. The database for the NPR would contain demographic as well as biometric particulars.

Census, as a concept

Giving an understanding of the population and housing of the country, census, as per the Office of the Registrar General and Census Commissioner, the population Census is the “total process of collecting, compiling, analysing 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.”

The census, which is carried out periodically every ten years, will mark its 16th Iteration since 1872.

The point of difference

One major difference between the NPR and the Census is that the former comprises a list of people published in the public domain. At the same time, the latter is a document that aids in formulating government policies.

In the case of the Census, the state doesn’t release details about individuals. On the other hand, however, it draws on larger trends, such as the gender ratio in a particular district, the child sex ratio, the number of people living in each state, the languages people speak, and the assets they own, among others. 

Moreover, the census questions are mandatory to be answered; the NPR questions are voluntary, and one can choose not to answer them.

As far as the questions asked are concerned, in the first phase of census, it pertains to the ‘Houselisting Census’ which consists of the amenities in the house, like toilet, electricity, water supply and more where in, the questions in NPR form a part of Census Household schedule (the second phase) which was carried out in 2021; except for place of birth of parents.

The current status

The process of NPR has seen various debates over its necessity and significance. Currently, the digital update of the NPR is planned to include self-updating, as it has been proposed that residents update their data.

Additionally, the 2027 census exercise will be conducted in the same format as the 2011 census. Caste enumeration, which is also part of the 2027 Census exercise, will be conducted in the second phase during the population enumeration.

However, according to recent reports, the government is facing the challenge of updating the central list of OBCs, as it will be mandatory to enumerate castes. Furthermore, the states also have their lists of OBCs, which differ from state to state, and hence, these will also need to be updated if they are referenced for caste enumeration. 

Recently, the Union government announced that it has not yet decided whether to update the National Population Register (NPR) during the upcoming Population Census.

Meanwhile, the Census process, which was put on hold five years ago due to the COVID-19 pandemic, started again last month, marking the first time the Census 2027 will be held in digital mode.