The CAA-NPR-NRC controversy may deter citizens from offering authentic information
Amid the anger and acrimony over the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), the National Population Register (NPR), and a possible National Register of Citizens (NRC), which the government has said has not been finalised yet, there has been little thought regarding its effects on another growing challenge — the quality of official data. In the last few years, official data has suffered from credibility issues and undermined confidence in the economy. The Indian statistical system, once the envy of the developing world, has fallen on hard times.
In 2020 and 2021, the government will roll out the 16th Census (and the 8th after Independence). The Census will be conducted in two phases — a house listing and housing Census to be conducted between April and September this year, followed by the population enumeration in February 2021.
The Census is the key source of primary data at the village, town and ward level, providing micro-level data on demography, housing, assets, education, economic activity, social groups, language and migration, among other variables. It also provides population data to the Delimitation Commission for the constitutionally-mandated decennial delimitation of parliamentary and assembly constituencies, and serves as a key input for many government policies and public services.
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