Census of India 2011 – A Story of Innovations
Indian Census is the single largest source of a variety of statistical
information on different characteristics of the people of India. It is the most
credible source of information on demography, economic activity, literacy and
education, housing & household amenities, urbanization, fertility and mortality,
scheduled castes and scheduled tribes, language, religion, migration, disability
and many other socio-cultural and demographic data.
With a history of more than 130 years, this reliable, time tested exercise has
been bringing out a veritable wealth of statistics every 10 years, beginning
from 1872 when the first census was conducted in India non-synchronously in
different parts.
The recently concluded Census 2011 is the 15th National Census of the Country in
the unbroken series since 1872 and the seventh after Independence. It is
remarkable that the great historical tradition of conducting a Census has been
maintained in spite of several adversities like wars, epidemics, natural
calamities, political unrest etc. Very few countries in the world can boast of
such a glorious tradition.
The responsibility of conducting the decennial Census rests with the Office of
the Registrar General and Census Commissioner, India (ORGI) under the Ministry
of Home Affairs, Government of India, which includes conceptualization, planning
and implementation of the Census operation in the country. The organization has
field offices in all the States and Union Territories (except the Union
Territory of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and the Union Territory of Daman and Diu,
which are attached to the office at Gujarat). The field officers are headed by
the Directors of Census Operations, who are responsible for the conduct of
Census in their respective jurisdictions.
Methodology:
The Census of India is conducted once in a decade, following an extended de
facto canvasser method. Under this approach, data is collected on every
individual by visiting the household and canvassing a single questionnaire over
a period of three weeks. The count is then updated to the reference date and
time by conducting a Revision Round. In the Revision Round, any changes in the
entries that arise on account of births, deaths and migration between the time
of the enumerators visit and the reference date/time are noted down and the
record updated.
Census 2011 has been conducted in two phases. In the first phase, known as
Houselisting and Housing Census, each building, house and other structures were
systematically listed and numbered. Besides, useful information on use of the
house, amenities available to the households, if residential, and assets owned
by them was collected. This exercise, held between April to September, 2010 in
different States/Union territories was used to draw up a frame for the second
phase of Census 2011, known as Population Enumeration held in February 2011.
In the second phase, the Population Enumeration exercise was held throughout the
country from 9th to 28th February 2011. During this period, about 2.7 million
Enumerators visited about 240 million households collecting information on every
person living in these households. On the night of 28th February, 2011 the
Houseless population was enumerated. Thereafter, a Revision Round was conducted
to update the population with reference to the Census Moment, i.e., 00:00 hours
of 1st March, 2011 by updating information on births and deaths occurring in the
households.
Innovations Adopted:
India had witnessed unparalleled change in terms of growth in population,
economic development and adoption of new technology, particularly in the filed
of Information Technology in comparison to the previous decades. This offered an
opportunity to reassess each stage of census taking and modify the procedures
taking into account the availability of resources and their optimum utilization.
From planning to execution of the Census Operation, innovation was the key word.
The objective was to ensure full coverage of the area and the population without
omission or overlapping, collection of quality data without any prejudice and
bias and to quickly process the data to make it available in the public domain
for use before it becomes obsolete.
Following are some of the steps taken in this direction:
Complete and Unduplicated Coverage of Population-While undertaking census
operation, a key aspect is to ensure complete coverage of the geographic area of
the country without any omission or duplication. This requires the updating of
jurisdictional boundaries of all the administrative units from States to the
Villages/Towns. Towards this end for use in Census 2011, information on changes
in the jurisdiction of the administrative boundaries of 35 States/Union
Territories, 640 districts, 5,924 sub-districts, 7,935 towns and 6,40,867
villages were meticulously collected along with official notifications and maps.
Each of these changes was recorded in the digitized maps using latest GIS
software. In addition, the Census Organization has completed preparation of
detailed digital maps of 33 capital cities of the country based on satellite
imagery. These maps show detailed layout of buildings, houses, other structures,
road network and important landmarks and were used in Census 2011.
Quality of Content:
Designing the Census Schedules- Two types of Questionnaire, known in Census as
Schedules, are canvassed for the two phases of Census. In Census 2011, the work
of designing the Schedules was entrusted to the National Institute of Design,
Ahmedabad which came up with brilliant designs, which were easy to use,
aesthetically developed, easy to scan and comparable to the best in the world.
The Schedules had several unique features like Bar Code, Unique Form Number and
drop-out color from a standard palette. All these helped in collecting quality
information and better inventory management, a nightmare in the past. These
features have greatly enhanced the processing of data.
Training- One of the most critical elements in Census is the training of the
field Enumerators who collect information. Unless the 2.7 million functionaries
are clear about the concepts and methodology, the quality of data collected will
suffer. For the first time support of the NGOs was taken in imparting training
in local languages. In Census 2011, a three-tier training hierarchy was put in
place with National Trainers (90 in number) at the country level, Master
Trainers Facilitators (725) at the State level and Master Trainers (54,000) at
the District level. It was the responsibility of the Master Trainers to train
2.7 million Enumerators/ Supervisors at the grass-root level, a ratio of just 50
Enumerators per Master Trainer. The Instruction Manual was substantially
improved by incorporating suitable illustrations and examples. In addition,
Training Guides showing minute to minute agenda was prepared for use by the
trainers at each stage of training. The Guide not only focused on elaborating
concepts and methodology in Census but also covered such aspects as
communication, rapport building etc. One important addition to the basket of
training aids was the introduction of e-Learning modules on important census
concepts, where animation characters representing Enumerators and Respondent(s)
were shown actually delivering the dialogues and asking questions.
