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[Taha Mehmood]

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/News/PoliticsNation/Census_2011_Emphasis_on_migrants_residence/articleshow/2980968.cms

The Economic Times

Census 2011: Emphasis on migrants' residence
25 Apr 2008,

NEW DELHI: Census 2011 may not only be quicker with the government aiming to
cut down the gap between completion of census and release of data
from 4-5 years to 2-3 years, but could also present a more accurate
demographic picture by enumerating temporary migrants at their usual
residence rather than actual residence at the time of enumeration.

It be recalled that during the recent delimitation exercise for the country,
doubts were raised regarding the accuracy of the population count taken in
the 2001 census, in certain states. In his inaugural address at the data
users conference for Census 2011 that began here on Thursday, Union home
minister Shivraj Patil attributed the mismatch between Census count and the
actual population on the Census methodology.

"The Census in the country is conducted on a de-facto method and not de-jure
method. As a result, the population is counted wherever they are found to be
living during the three weeks of census taking...but with increasing
mobility, this approach has a limitation of giving lower count of the state,
district and area from where the population may have migrated..." Mr Patil
pointed out.

Even as the minister called for a method that allocates such temporary
migrants to the state, district or area where they belong, the Census
authorities — the Registrar General of India — have proposed a combination
of the de-facto and de-jure methods for the 2011 census, wherein temporary
migrants will be counted at their usual residence, defined as households
where they have stayed for most part of the 12 months preceding the
enumeration period.

Mr Patil, in his address, also called for quicker release of Census data
with the help of newer technologies not only at the stage of data capture
and data processing, but even for pre-Census planning and actual Census
taking.

"It should be our endeavour hereafter, to squeeze the time further and
complete the release of 2011 data in 2-3 years from the date of completion
of the Census," he stated.

With the population of the country expected to be nearly 1.20 billion by
2011, it would take over 2 million enumerators to conduct the upcoming
Census-taking exercise, to be spread over a period of 4 weeks from February
2-28, 2011, followed by a revision round from March 1 to 5.

According to Mr Patil, the 2011 Census was poised to become a challenge
because the government was contemplating to use the opportunity to dovetail
the preparation of National Population Register (NPR) with it.

The data in the NPR will have specified characteristics of each individual
along with the photograph and finger biometrics which will be added
subsequent to the Census, he said adding that the government was planning to
set up an authority for handling and management of the database.

The RGI, while releasing three sets of data for Census 2001 at the
conference, observed that not only was the age at marriage well beyond the
legal age, averaging at 22.6 years for males and 18.3 for females, but life
expectancy was also up by 0.3 years. As for work participation rate, the
overall figure was 39.1 (51.7 for males and 25.6 for females), with only
3.5% of the population in the age group 15-34 found to be non-working.