In News: Budget 2021 will go down in history for a number of firsts including the Finance Minister presenting the first digital Budget and announcing that the eighth census of Independent India will be the first digital census in the history of the country.
About Digital Census 2021
- 2021 census will be conducted through a mobile phone application, moving away from the traditional pen and paper to give Digital India a boost.
- The nationwide exercise will be carried out in 16 languages.
- The census will have its reference date as March 1 this year, but for snow-bound Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand, it will be October 1, last year.
Important Points
- Digital census for the year 2021.
- The digital collection of data will be aided with the help of a mobile app.
- Amount of Rs 12000 crore will be invested for the preparation of National Population Register and census.
- Benefits of census 2021, explaining its helpfulness in terms of future planning, development and welfare schemes.
- Importance of the census, he also reflected on the programmes launched by the government in its last tenure that initially had its dependence on the census 2011.
National Population Register (NPR)
- The National Population Register (NPR) is a register of the usual residents of the country.
- A usual resident is defined for the purposes of NPR as a person who has resided in a local area for the past 6 months or more or a person who intends to reside in that area for the next 6 months or more.
- It is mandatory for every usual resident of India to register in the NPR.
- It is being prepared at the local (Village/sub-Town), sub-District, District, State and National level under provisions of the Citizenship Act 1955 and the Citizenship Rules, 2003.
- The database under the NPR will be maintained by the Registrar General of India and Census Commissioner of India, Ministry of Home Affairs.
- The NPR database contains demographic as well as biometric details.
- As per the provisions of the NPR, a resident identity card (RIC) will be issued to individuals over the age of 18.
- This will be a chip-embedded smart card with the UID number (Aadhaar) printed
Source: The Hindu
