Census 2021 to note Net, TV connection

Bhartesh Singh Thakur

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, December 5

For the first time, the Census, due in 2021, will gather information on access to internet, whether households consume packaged or bottled water, type of TV connection, means of listening to radio and number of individuals availing banking facility in a household.

In the first phase, the Houselisting and Housing Census along with National Population Register (NPR) will commence on May 1, 2020, and end on June 15.

In the second phase, population enumeration will be done from February 9 to 28.

About 70,000 people will be deployed for the Census, carried out every 10 years. For the first time, it will be app-based. This means results will be out sooner.

In the Houselisting and Housing Census, a question on access to internet has been included. Earlier, there was no information on households drinking packaged or bottled water, but this time, information on this aspect will be gathered.

The question on the kind of TV connection — Doordarshan or cable connection or Direct to Home — has been included.

The individual information collected under the Census cannot be shared with any department, but NPR can be utilised.

In the NPR this time, information on passport number and, if available, Aadhaar number, driver’s licence number, voter ID number and mobile phone number will also be noted.

According to sources, the questionnaire for NPR will be finalised soon and information on religion could be asked too.

For the first time, the enumerator will have the option to either use paper or mobile phone app to gather data. To ensure privacy of the data, the enumerator will be a known and verified person. He or she will be registered with his mobile number.

Once the details are uploaded on app, he or she cannot access the data. The data will be stored in encrypted form.

The apps are expected to remain insulated from any malware and user will not be able to take screenshot.