It is necessary to carry out the process of census in the country as soon as possible

- Recent population statistics are now also important in terms of distribution of taxes among states and other sensitive decisions

A decennial census in India is an exercise fraught with possibilities and complexities. In this process every citizen of the country is registered and then a detailed census is taken. Apart from the current occasion, in the past this exercise has always been conducted at the beginning of every decade during any given century.

The 2021 census was postponed because the Covid-19 pandemic and consequent travel restrictions and social distancing norms already put additional strain on capacity. However, these restrictions have been completely lifted for almost a year now and there has been little effort to restart the census process. Observers believe that the 2021 census process will not begin until the next general election. The next election is scheduled for early summer 2024.

However, this delay is unreasonable. In fact, census is the basis of many important policies of the state. These are the policies that are necessary for the provision of goods, the effect of governance and the proper distribution of expenditure among different sectors and target groups. Household, employment and other surveys can only supplement the actual census, they cannot replace it. In fact the Census serves as an important corrective to such surveys, estimates and elaborations. Without fully understanding and knowing the characteristics of the population, policy makers are in the dark.

Now that India is emerging as a more complex welfare state, the need for census is increasing rapidly. The Supreme Court's recent guidelines on transfer of benefits under the National Food Security Act underscore the importance of census in the country's welfare system. Recent population figures are now also important in the context of tax distribution and other sensitive decisions among states. The indifference with which the government is dealing with this fundamental part of its duties and responsibilities is disappointing.

Conducting the next census will be easier anyway as the government plans to incorporate digitization in the process. New census methods have been invented, one of which is self-enumeration, in which people provide their own information. Presenting data electronically is also one way. Alternatively this can be included in the census and the actual process can be expedited. This was done after the epidemic in other countries, including the US, and has shown positive results.

Census is so important that decision makers should be encouraged to go ahead with it instead of delaying it. Given its impact on federal taxation and power-sharing and its implications for caste and welfare-based politics, it is possible that the government wants to ensure that at least the next Lok Sabha elections are not affected by the census results.

If this happens, there will be very little time left after the elections as the constituencies are going to be demarcated in 2027. Certainly this time is not enough to build a political consensus based on new population figures. Recent history shows that such steps have to be taken to make successful reforms. The government cannot postpone the census indefinitely.