Question 1 · 10 marks · 155 words written
What is a 'Census'? Discuss the importance of Census for the economy and policy making.
Opening · a definition
Census, in India, refers to Decennial practice of enumeration of citizens and their various socio-economic indicators. The last census happened in 2011 with the upcoming in 2026.
Census is under the Union List and is done by Registrar General. The upcoming census is designed to overcome the limitations faced in the Socio-economic Caste Census (SECC), 2011.
Importance of Census -> Economy & policy Making
Body · points
gned to overcome the limitations faced in the Socio-economic Caste Census (SECC), 2011.
Importance of Census -> Economy & policy Making (1) Data Driven Policy making: census provides the micro-data -> needed for effective design.
(2) Provides information for socio-economic indicators of citizen -> help in better tax planning and expanding Tax base.
(3) Determine demography of the country - age structure, spatial distribution for policy making.
(4) Helps in Expenditure Planning and Budgeting for different regions and groups of citizens.
(5) Social Sector Planning is undertaken with the help of census -> information about health, education, etc.
Close · a way forward
To combat the above issues, upcoming census would be participative and digitally enabled census.