Census, NPR exercises likely to be delayed

New Delhi: The first phase of the Census and the exercise to update the National Population Register (NPR), scheduled for this year but deferred due to the coronavirus outbreak, may be delayed by a year as there is no sign of slowdown of the pandemic.
The Indian Census is one of the largest administrative and statistical exercises in the world, with the involvement of more than 30 lakh officials who would visit each household across the length and breadth of the country.
“Census is not an essential exercise for now. Even if it is delayed by a year, there would be no harm,” a senior official told PTI.
The official said no final decision has been taken on when the first phase of the Census 2021 and NPR update would take place, but it is almost certain that it would not be held in 2020 due to the rising cases of the coronavirus.
The two exercises were scheduled to be carried out across the country from April 1 to September 30, 2020, but were postponed due to the pandemic. “As the entire exercise needs the involvement of lakhs of officials and visit to each family, we can’t undermine the health risk involved,” the official said.
According to the earlier schedule, the census would have its reference date as March 1, 2021, and in Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand, it would be Oct 1, 2020. (PTI)