NEW DELHI:
India’s cabinet approved funds on Tuesday for a census and population survey to be conducted next year, amid fears that the database could be used to build a controversial citizens register, against which there have been widespread protests.
The government approved Rs 87.54 billion ($1.23 billion) for conducting the census and 39.41 billion rupees for updating the National Population Register (NPR), Information and Broadcasting Minister Prakash Javadekar told reporters.
The census collects data on population, economy activity, social and cultural aspects, migration and demography, down to the lowest administrative level.Union Minister Prakash Javadekar has said that no documents or biometrics will be taken during the NPR process.
Census will be done using app. "No proof will be required during the census as it will be based on self-declaration," Javadekar said.NPR data will be used for identifying the beneficiaries of subsidies.
The Narendra Modi cabinet decided that the National Population Register (NPR) will be updated along with the house-listing phase of Census 2021 from April to September 2020 in all the states/union territories, except Assam.
Javedkar said that the upcoming NPR was no different than the one conducted in 2010 by the UPA government.
The process of updating the NPR will be held between April and September 2020, before the Census which is due to start from February 2021.
The Census Commission has said the objective of the NPR is to create a comprehensive identity database of every "usual resident" of the country. The database will have demographic as well as biometric details.
A "usual resident", for the NPR, is a person who has lived in an area for at least six months or more, or a person who intends to live in an area for the next six months or more. It is mandatory for every "usual resident" of India to register in the NPR.
The NPR, since it is linked to the Census, is seen as the first step towards a nationwide exercise to implement the National Register of Citizens (NRC). Though an NPR doesn't necessarily mean it's guaranteed there will be an NRC, it clears the path for a nationwide citizens' list. This is seen as one of the reasons why some states like West Bengal and Kerala, which are opposed to the NRC, have stopped work on the NPR.
Home Minister Amit Shah later sought to allay fears by categorically stating that there is no link between National Register of Citizens (NRIC) and National Population Register (NPR). His clarification comes amidst widespread protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act, 2019 and general fear of nationwide implementation of National Register of Citizens.Commenting further,
Shah said the singular aim of National Population Register was to help the government to streamline development efforts and schemes by identifying the right beneficiary.
Commenting further, Shah said the singular aim of National Population Register was to help the government to streamline development efforts and schemes by identifying the right beneficiary.He said the names of people living in the country are in NPR based on which programmes are made.
The data for NPR was first collected in 2010 during the second term of the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government, along with the house-listing phase of Census 2011.
The NPR data was first updated in 2015 with door-to-door surveys; digitisation of the updated data is complete now, officials said. Today, the government cleared the decks for the next round of updating the NPR, along with the house-listing phase of Census 2021 in 2020.
West Bengal and Kerala have stopped the NPR exercise, over a week after the controversial bill to amend the Citizenship Act was passed by both houses of parliament.
"After considering the concerns raised in the wake of the 2019 amendment in the Citizenship Act, the state government has decided not to cooperate with the process to update the NPR to facilitate the preparation of the NRC," the office of Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said in a statement last week.
Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said, "All activities regarding the preparation and updation of the National Population Register are stayed in West Bengal. No activity regarding NRP may be taken up without clearance from the government of West Bengal."