Long-Awaited Population Census In India To Begin In September: Report

Population Census: India's delayed population census, originally scheduled for 2021, will commence in September 2022 and conclude in March 2026 according to a Reuters report.

India is likely to begin its population census next month after 15 years.

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India is set to begin its long-awaited population census in September, according to government sources news agency Reuters spoke to. The census, which comes after a long delay, will provide the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government important data and plug gaps in policymaking in his third term.

The once-in-a-decade census, originally scheduled for 2021, had to be postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Now, the upcoming census will begin next month, two government officials directly involved in the process confirmed to Reuters. The census is expected to take around 18 months to be completed.

The delay in conducting the census has been criticised by economists both within and outside the government. The lack of current data on the population impacts the reliability of other crucial statistical surveys, such as those related to the economy, inflation, and employment. At present, most of these data sets, along with government schemes that rely on them, are based on the 2011 population census.

The Ministry of Home Affairs, responsible for conducting the census, along with the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation, has set a March 2026 deadline for publishing the results of the census. This would cover a span of 15 years, according to the report.

The officials told the news agency that the final approval from the Prime Minister's office is still pending. The Centre is yet to officially disclose the details of beginning the Census.

Last year, a United Nations report said that India had surpassed China to become the world's most populous country. 

In addition to the census, the government is working on updating its economic data, including retail inflation, by adjusting the weights of various categories such as food, to better reflect changes in consumption habits.

The report of the census process beginning next month comes amid the Opposition's demand for including caste data in the same, a move the government is seemingly opposed to.