- Most of the Indian citizens were glued to the unfurling of the Union Budget by the finance minister hoping what was promised in the leading up to the general election manifesto would fructify. Yes, the Union Government led by PM Narendra Modi left no occasion unutilized while exhorting that the only castes that matter in the country are farmers, youth, poor, and women. It was amply evident that whatever socio-economic measures were aimed at would be targeting these four critical categories of society. Yes, there were other considerations to address the requirements of industries, businesses, entrepreneurs, startups, and emerging technologies. Mind you, every stratum of society cannot be satisfied in a democratic form of governance.
PC: The Economic Times
- Since the BJP lost the majority of seats of its own and had to rely upon the allies to shore up the numbers to remain in power, the coalition compulsions coming in the way of governance were a given fact. The Union Budget presented recently further corroborates the same as the two states of Andhra Pradesh and Bihar are earmarked to receive funds for several projects. The budget also indicates that the most important data-gathering exercise will be further delayed as well. That the budget has further cut outlay for India’s much-delayed Census 2021 is message enough that the Union Government is in no hurry to carry out the single most important data-gathering exercise. The cabinet had sanctioned Rs.12k crore in 2019 for the 16th Census.
- Note that it was to be in multi-mode-pen-paper and via app/mobile devices. As per the Registrar General of India, info would also be collected online. The government of India expected half the population to fill in their household data. Covid resulted in the exercise being postponed indefinitely. But while everything else is back to normal, the Census is still on hold. Yes, there are logistical constraints. One is the potential exclusion of communities without digital access. Two, officials are vague on the question of preserving anonymity when individuals fill in their data online – digital footprints cancel out the census’s guarantee of anonymity. Three, the possibility of data theft – recall CoWIN breach and Aadhaar data hacks – is real.
PC: India Today
- However, all this is only half the story. The census is India’s biggest database, crucial for policymaking. So, when free grain is distributed to 60% of the population, it’s based on estimates, projected from the 2011 Census. Is the coverage complete? We can’t know for sure. So, maybe it’s down to politics. First, the new law on women’s reservation. Six months after its historic passage, it’s a law in the letter alone. The delay was inbuilt -women’s quota will kick in only after delimitation post-census. And, delimitation is slated for only after the first Census post 2026. That means if a Census is carried out before 2026, delimitation could get pushed to after the next Census. Census is about getting a sense of us. Politics shouldn’t come into it. But sadly, it’s there.
