Nearly all COVID-19-related restrictions have been lifted across the world and India, but the Centre has no plans to restart the decennial Census operations which were halted due to the pandemic. While a letter sent by the Registrar General of India (RGI) to States in June cited COVID-19 for the continuing delay, the real reason could be a possible revamp of the entire design of the Census operations, according to an official.
The government sits on the drawing board to make the changes, even as the first phase of the decennial exercise that was to be completed in 2020, has been postponed indefinitely. The RGI letter added that “time period for conducting the ensuing Census is not decided yet”.
In a glimpse of what could be in the offing, Home Minister Amit Shah on May 9 in Assam said, “A new software — e Swaroop is being developed. After a child is born, the details will be automatically updated in the Census register. After someone turns 18, the name will be added to the electoral register. After death, the name of the will be deleted from the voters list. If you change residence and there is a new registry, you will get an SMS asking whether you bought the property or were transferred there or if there is any other reason? The details will be updated in the Census register automatically based on your answer.”
