Apart from being used to demarcate constituencies, the Census data is also vital to the administration, and planning of key welfare schemes could be affected by the delay. The Centre’s intent to conduct Census 2021 was notified in the Gazette of India on March 28, 2019. “However, once the new Census data is released, they will have to revise it. How about Census data on migration? Census data on the reasons for migration — whether economic or otherwise — could also help assess the impact of schemes such as MGNREGA on preventing distress migration, he said.

Source: The Hindu August 17, 2021 06:33 UTC