The article highlights the deployment of a digital Census as well as the possibility for residents to self-enumerate by updating their National Population Register (NPR) information online.
What is the news?
- The first digital Census, Census 2021, will allow residents to “self-enumerate” when it is performed.
- The government has not yet announced a date for the Census, and a notification dated January 2, 2023, implies that the activity would be delayed until at least September.
What is National Population Register (NPR)?
- The NPR is a register that keeps track of the country’s regular residents.
- It is prepared at the municipal, sub-district, district, state, and national levels.
- The Citizenship Act of 1955 and the Citizenship (Registration of Citizens and Issue of National Identity Cards) Rules of 2003 govern the creation of the NPR.
- Every ordinary inhabitant of India is required to register with the NPR.
- A typical resident is described as someone who has lived in a local region for the past 6 months or longer, or someone who plans to live there for the next 6 months or more.
Differences between NPR and the Census Bureau
- A thorough questionnaire is used to collect information such as age, gender, marital status, occupation, religion, and more.
- The NPR captures basic demographic information as well as biometric information.
- The Census Act of 1948 governs the census, whereas the National Population Register is overseen by the Citizenship Act of 1955.
Stipulated process for self-enumeration
- Only households that have updated their NPR details online will be able to self-enumerate for the Census.
- The Census is overseen by the Office of the Registrar General of India (ORGI), which has created a web-based “self-enumeration (SE)” portal that is currently available in English.
- The yet-to-be-launched mobile-friendly platform will allow users to register their mobile phones in the NPR database, self-enumerate, and fill out Houselisting Operations details.
- The gathering of Aadhaar or cellphone numbers is required for self-enumeration.
What is the relationship between NPR and NRC?
- The NPR is the first step in establishing the National Register of Indian Citizens (NRIC/NRC), according to the Citizenship Rules 2003.
- The NPR was last revised in 2015, however additional questions were introduced in September 2019 as part of a trial project with 30 lakh respondents.
- The activity is viewed as a step towards compiling the National Register of Indian Citizens (NRC) in accordance with the Citizenship Rules, 2003.
What about the security of data?
- While the Census collects similar information, individual data is kept private by Section 15 of the Census Act of 1948.
- At the administrative level, only aggregated data is published.
- Data collected under the NPR are shared with states and used by the Central government for other individual welfare initiatives.
Way forward
- The government should examine the following to ensure the success of the digital Census and self-enumeration process:
- Conduct extensive public awareness initiatives to educate citizens on the benefits of self-enumeration.
- To accommodate varied language preferences, provide multi-language support on the self-enumeration portal.
- Address citizens’ worries about data privacy and security to foster confidence.
- Create a strong support structure to assist citizens with technical challenges or inquiries during self-enumeration.
- Update and upgrade the self-enumeration site on a regular basis based on user feedback to improve user experience and convenience of use.
Source: https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/update-npr-to-enumerate-self-during-next-census/article66885408.ece#:~:text=Census%202021%2C%20which%20has%20been,exercise%20at%20least%20till%20September.