Latest news with #Census
Indian Express
6 hours ago
- Politics
- Indian Express
First phase of the Census with Houselisting operations to begin from April 1, 2026
The houselisting operations for the forthcoming Census will begin from April 1, 2026, marking the start of the first phase of the decennial exercise, the Registrar General of India has said. In a letter to chief secretaries of states and Union Territories, Census Commissioner and Registrar General of India Mrityunjay Kumar Narayan said the Houselisting Operations and Housing Census shall begin on April 1, 2026. Before that the appointment of supervisors, enumerators and work distribution among them shall be done with cooperation from states and district administration, it said. The Census is a two-phase exercise — in phase one i.e. Houselisting Operation (HLO), the housing conditions, assets and amenities of each household will be collected. Subsequently, in the second phase i.e. Population Enumeration (PE), the demographic, socio-economic, cultural and other details of every person in each household will be collected which is scheduled for February 1, 2027, according to the letter. In the Census, Caste enumeration will also be done, a government statement had said. For Census activities, over 34 lakh enumerators and supervisors and around 1.3 lakh Census functionaries would be deployed. It is the 16th Census till now and the eighth after independence. The forthcoming Census will be conducted through digital means using mobile applications. Provision of self-enumeration would also be made available to the people. The Office of the Registrar General and Census Commissioner had prepared around three dozen questions to be asked to the citizens. The survey will ask households about ownership of items like phones, internet, vehicles (bicycle, scooter, motorcycle, car, jeep, van), and appliances (radio, TV, transistor) among others. The citizens will also be asked about cereal consumption, sources of drinking water and lighting, type and access to latrines, wastewater disposal, bathing and kitchen facilities, fuel used for cooking and LPG/PNG connection. Additional questions include the materials used for the floor, walls and roof of the house, its condition, number of residents, number of rooms, presence of married couples, and whether the household head is a female or belongs to a Scheduled Caste or Tribe.
The Hindu
6 hours ago
- Politics
- The Hindu
Watch: Puri stampede, trachoma milestone, Iran-Israel ceasefire doubts and more
1. Stampede at Puri Rath Yatra Leaves Three Dead, Several Injured Three people lost their lives and several others were injured during a stampede at the annual Jagannath Rath Yatra in Puri, Odisha. The incident occurred as massive crowds surged during the chariot procession, leading to chaos and crushing. Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi confirmed the deaths and announced that both the Puri Collector and Superintendent of Police have been transferred. An investigation has been ordered into the crowd management lapses. 2. WHO Declares India Free of Trachoma, PM Highlights in 'Mann Ki Baat' During this month's edition of 'Mann Ki Baat', Prime Minister Narendra Modi shared that the World Health Organization has officially declared India free of Trachoma — a major eye disease that once affected millions. PM Modi said the achievement was the result of consistent health campaigns, improved hygiene practices, and community-level awareness. Health experts have hailed this as a major public health milestone for the country. 3. Iran voices doubts about durability of ceasefire with Israel, report says Iran is highly doubtful that Israel will maintain the ceasefire that ended an air war between the two countries, the Iranian armed forces' Chief of Staff told Saudi Arabia's Defence Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman on Sunday (June 29, 2025), according to Iranian semi-official Tasnim news agency. 'Since we have complete doubts about the enemy's (Israel) adherence to its commitments, including the ceasefire, we are prepared to give it a strong response if it repeats the aggression,' Abdolrahim Mousavi said. 4. India Slams Pakistan Over Waziristan Terror Attack Claims India has strongly rejected Pakistan's attempt to link New Delhi to a recent terrorist attack in North Waziristan. In a sharply worded statement, the Ministry of External Affairs said such allegations were baseless and an attempt to deflect from Islamabad's own internal security failures. The statement comes after Pakistani authorities suggested Indian involvement in the killing of five soldiers in the region. India reiterated its long-standing position that terrorism must not be used as a tool of foreign policy. 5. First Phase of Census to Begin on April 1, 2026 The government has announced that the first phase of the national Census, including Houselisting operations, will begin on April 1, 2026. This marks a significant step forward after repeated delays caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Officials said preparations are underway to digitise much of the process, with enumerators expected to use mobile apps for data collection. The Census will offer key insights for future planning and policy decisions.
Hindustan Times
9 hours ago
- Politics
- Hindustan Times
Census 2027:Centre asks states to finalise administrative boundaries by Dec 31
New Delhi: The Centre has asked the states and union territories to make any proposed changes in the boundaries of administrative jurisdictions before December 31, 2025, when they will freeze for the Census-2027 exercise and the first phase of the decadal population count will begin on April 1 next year, according to a communication sent by the registrar general and census commissioner of India, Mritunjay Kumar Narayan, on June 27. The Centre announced earlier this month that the 16th Census will finally be carried out after a gap of 16 years. (Representational image) The freezing means the states/UTs won't be able to change the boundaries of districts, towns, villages and tehsils post December 31. The Census can be conducted only three months after the freezing of boundary limits of administrative units. For the Census, all villages and towns are divided into uniform enumeration blocks and for each block, an enumerator is assigned to avoid any miss or repetition during the population count. 'From April 1, 2026, the Houselisting Operation, the appointment of supervisors and enumerators and the work division among them will be done, and on February 1, 2027, the Census of the population will begin. It is important that once enumeration blocks are finalised, boundaries of administrative units are not changed,' Narayan said in his letter to all the chief secretaries. He asked them to direct all the departments 'to make any proposed changes in the boundaries of municipal corporations, revenue villages, tehsils, sub-divisions or districts before December 31'. 'The states/UTs should ensure that no changes should be made in the boundaries of administrative units between January 1, 2026, and March 31, 2027, during which Census exercise will take place. Any changes in the existing boundaries must be intimated to Census directorates in the states and UTs and Registrar General of India by December 31, 2025. For Census 2027, boundaries of administrative units will be frozen on December 31, 2025,' the letter added. To ensure a fair workload for enumerators, an administrative unit is divided into manageable sections for the Census called 'blocks'. A block is a clearly defined area within a village or town on a notional map for census purposes. These are termed houselisting blocks (HLBs) during houselisting operations and enumeration blocks (EBs) during Population Enumeration (PE) and serve as the smallest administrative units for the Census. According to Narayan's letter, the houselisting operations for the Census will begin from April 1, 2026, marking the start of the first phase of the decennial exercise. 'Before that, the appointment of supervisors, enumerators and work distribution among them shall be done with cooperation from states and district administration,' the letter stated. The Centre announced earlier this month that the 16th Census will finally be carried out after a gap of 16 years. '....the Central government hereby declares that a census of the population of India shall be taken during the year 2027. The reference date for the said census shall be 00.00 hours of the 1st day of March, 2027, except for the union territory of Ladakh and snow-bound non-synchronous areas of the union territory of Jammu and Kashmir and the states of Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand', said the notification issued by the Office of Registrar General of India or ORGI on June 16. The much-delayed Census, which will include caste enumeration, will be completed by March 1, 2027. Officials have said that while the data collection would be over by March 1, 2027, the entire exercise to collate the data and publish it will take two to three more years. On preparatory activities already done, officials said that all the states have already constituted Census Coordination Committees (CCCs) under the respective chief secretaries. 'As the Census exercise was originally to take place in 2020, ORGI had already written to states/UTs for forming CCCs in April 2019,' said an officer, adding that the committees have various departments like revenue, local administration, municipal corporations, rural development and panchayats, planning education, etc for conducting and monitoring different phases of Census. Also, the pre-test for Census - which is conducted prior to each Census encompassing all facets to check feasibility of all questions, methodologies, logistics arrangements, processing of data, etc - was also done in 2019. The ministry of home affairs has said that the 16th Census will see involvement of about 34 lakh enumerators and supervisors. Besides, it said, around 1.3 lakh Census functionaries would be deployed for the exercise. It also said that the upcoming census 'will be conducted through digital means using mobile applications' and 'provision of self-enumeration would also be made available to the people'. The 16th Census will be conducted in two phases. In phase one i.e. house-listing operation (HLO), the housing conditions, assets and amenities of each household will be collected. Subsequently, in the second phase i.e. population enumeration (PE), the demographic, socio-economic, cultural and other details of every person in each household will be collected.
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Business Standard
10 hours ago
- Politics
- Business Standard
Boundaries of administrative units to be frozen on Dec 31, 2025 for Census
The Centre has asked states and Union Territories to make any proposed changes in the boundaries of administrative units before December 31, when they will be considered final for the census exercise. In a letter to all states and Union Territories, Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India Mritunjay Kumar Narayan has said that for the Census, all villages and towns are divided into uniform enumeration blocks and for each block, an enumerator is assigned to avoid any miss or repetition during the population count. According to norms, the Census can be conducted only three months after the freezing of boundary limits of administrative units such as districts, sub-districts, tehsils, talukas and police stations. Narayan said from April 1, 2026, the Houselisting Operation, the appointment of supervisors and enumerators and the work division among them will be done, and on February 1, 2027, the Census of the population will begin. It is important that once enumeration blocks are finalised, boundaries of administrative units are not changed, the letter said. In his letter addressed to chief secretaries, Narayan asked them to direct all departments to make any proposed changes in the boundaries of municipal corporations, revenue villages, tehsils, sub-divisions or districts before December 31. He asked the states and UTs to ensure that no changes should be made in the boundaries of administrative units between January 1, 2026, and March 31, 2027, during which Census exercise will take place. Any changes in the existing boundaries must be intimated to Census Directorates in the states and Union Territories and Registrar General of India by December 31, 2025, it said. "For Census 2027, boundaries of administrative units will be frozen on December 31, 2025," the letter said. To ensure a fair workload for enumerators, an administrative unit is divided into manageable sections for the Census called "blocks". A block is a clearly defined area within a village or town on a notional map for census purposes. These are termed Houselisting Blocks (HLBs) during Houselisting Operations and Enumeration Blocks (EBs) during Population Enumeration and serve as the smallest administrative units for the Census. India's 16th Census with caste enumeration will be carried out in 2027 with the reference date of October 1, 2026, in snow-bound areas like Ladakh and March 1, 2027, in the rest of the country. The Census will be conducted in two phases. In phase one i.e. houselisting Operation (HLO), the housing conditions, assets and amenities of each household will be collected. Subsequently, in the second phase i.e. Population Enumeration (PE), the demographic, socio-economic, cultural and other details of every person in each household will be collected. In the Census, caste enumeration will also be done, a Government statement had said. For Census activities, about 3.4 million enumerators and supervisors and around 130,000 Census functionaries would be deployed. It is the 16th Census till now and the eighth after independence. The ensuing Census will be conducted through digital means using mobile applications. Provision of Self-enumeration would also be made available to the people. Very stringent data security measures would be kept in place to ensure data security at the time of collection, transmission and storage, the statement had said. The reference date for Population Census - 2027 will be 00:00 hours of the first day of March 2027. For the Union Territory of Ladakh and the non-synchronous snow-bound areas of the UT of Jammu and Kashmir and states of Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand, the reference date will be 00.00 hours of the first day of October 2026, a notification had said. This Census will be carried out after 16 years as the last one was done in 2011.
Indian Express
10 hours ago
- General
- Indian Express
Like, follow, fear: Punjab's women take on patriarchy, one reel at a time
Written by Kumool Abbi The death of popular Punjabi YouTube influencer Kamal Kaur Bhabhi, also known as Kanchan Kumari, has sparked a complex debate spanning religion, gender, migration, and morality. It reflects the tension in traditional societies like Punjab that are caught between entrenched values and modern transformations. But this incident is just the tip of the iceberg. It exposes deeper fractures within a state in crisis. Post-Green Revolution Punjab is a shadow of its once-vibrant self. Agrarian distress, marked by declining returns, groundwater depletion, crop failure, soil salinisation, rising indebtedness, and farmer suicides, has driven marginal and small farmers along with agricultural labourers out of farming. The myth of Punjab as a prosperous agrarian state has faded. As the rural economy shrinks, families are increasingly turning to the secondary and tertiary sectors for survival. Amid this economic downturn, a subtle social transformation has been taking place, largely among the poor and Scheduled Castes. These communities, despite their vulnerability, have quietly altered the position of the girl child. Once devalued, daughters are now more likely to be born, nurtured and educated. Punjab's total fertility rate, at 1.6 according to NFHS 2019–21, is lower than the replacement level. This decline is linked to urbanisation, migration, enforcement of the Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques Act, and improved female literacy. The 2011 Census showed female literacy in Punjab at 70.73 per cent, higher than the national average of 64.6 per cent. Among Scheduled Castes, female literacy stood at 58.33 per cent. These figures mark a quiet inversion of patriarchal norms, especially in poorer households where daughters are increasingly seen as assets. But this shift is not without complications. Girls from economically weaker backgrounds still face structural barriers. Higher education is often inaccessible due to safety concerns, limited mobility, and family preference for educating sons. Many women, after basic schooling, seek work in an oversaturated informal sector, often migrating to towns or city outskirts. There, they enter new public spheres, grappling with both opportunity and risk. At the same time, the image of Punjab's young men has undergone a tragic transformation. Once seen as vigorous, hard-working farmers, many are now perceived as idle, directionless and addicted to drugs or alcohol. The decline of male economic contribution has pushed families to depend increasingly on their daughters, who are also withdrawing from agriculture. The Periodic Labour Force Survey 2024 shows that the female labour force participation rate for ages 15 to 29 declined from 45 per cent in January to March to 44.1 per cent in April to June. Unemployment among young women stood at 21.8 per cent, compared to 14.7 per cent for men. The work participation rate was just 15.7 per cent for women, compared to 56.1 percent for men. This growing female agency exists in contradiction with the patriarchal structures that still dominate Punjab. As women step into offices, markets, the gig economy, and increasingly onto social media, they challenge traditional norms of honour, shame, and sexuality. Modernity and globalisation have created space for self-expression, fuelling a sense of individuality, aspiration, and desire. Punjab's large diaspora further complicates this, exposing families to global values while reinforcing strong caste, ethnic, and religious ties. For many subaltern women, social media offers an alternative economic strategy. According to the NITI Aayog's SDG Index 2020–21, nearly 84.3 out of 100 people in Punjab were internet subscribers, with 61.2 per cent of women having mobile phone access. Unlike middle-class women producing 'respectable' content, these women often turn to YouTube, Facebook and Instagram for monetised self-expression. Cringe content and soft-porn appeal in global digital markets can translate into income. Algorithms reward sensationalism, driving creators to push boundaries. Figures like Kamal Kaur Bhabhi and Preet Jatti reflect this shift. These women often use cultural codes to satirise patriarchy, drawing in male viewers while mocking the gaze that seeks to control them. But this digital transgression provokes backlash. The subverted male gaze produces anxiety over the loss of control. Women, seen as male property, are suddenly visible, vocal and economically independent. In response, men try to reassert control, often through violence or extrajudicial means justified as 'moral cleansing'. Such reactions are not just personal but social. Honour becomes collective, and the merging of reel with real fuels moral panic. Patriarchal dogma, often backed by religion, seeks to censor, contain, and silence. The remarks by influencers like Ranvir Allahabadia and Samay Raina only underline the urgency for regulation. A framework to protect women, minors and other vulnerable groups from obscene content is necessary. But equally important is understanding that these moral panics mask deeper anxieties about agency, autonomy, and the shifting gender balance in a society struggling to adapt to change. (The writer is Professor, Department of Sociology, and Director, Population Research Centre, Panjab University)
