Amit Shah announces e-Census by 2024

Guwahati, May 9 (IANS) Union Home Minister Amit Shah said on Monday that the upcoming Census would be e-Census with 100 per cent accuracy, and it would be completed by 2024.

Inaugurating the new office building of the Directorate of Census Operations in Assam at Amingaon in Kamrup district, the Home Minister said that with the electronic process and enumeration of people, the Census would be updated automatically after every birth and death in the country.

The digital Census would shape the 'policies of the country for the next 25 years', he added.

Stating that the 2021 Census was delayed due to the Covid pandemic, Shah pointed out that without a perfect Census, planning for any development work or project is not possible.

"I know that the use of latest techniques to make the Census process more scientific is a gigantic task, but the officials and the enumerators would make the most important task successful, result-oriented and purposeful," he said.

Shah also said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been saying that when India would celebrate 100 years of Independence, all sectors of the country must be at their highest and desired levels.

"Census in India is important due to various reasons, and for a state like Assam, which is population-sensitive, it is even more crucial," Shah said.

He added that after every birth, the details would be registered in the Census records and after the person turns 18, the record would be enlisted in the electoral rolls, and after death, the name would be removed while change of address and other basic information would be smoother and easier.

Highlighting Vallabhbhai Patel's initiative to launch a Census in India, Shah said that India's first Home Minister had launched the most significant initiative in 1951.

"To make the Census more result-oriented and accurate, the role of the Central and state governments and many other stakeholders is very important. By check and counter check, undesirable matters could be eliminated," Shah said.

"As soon as the Covid situation comes under complete control, the process of digital Census would start across the country. It will be completed before 2024," he said.