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The Census 2021, was supposed to have started on February 9, 2021. Union Minister of State for Home Nityanand Rai in February in a written answer told Lok Sabha that census 2021 has been delayed due to covid 19 surging in the country. Apart from the census, other related activities have also been postponed.

This is the first occasion, where the census has been delayed after it was first started in 1881. According to a revised schedule for the census, fieldwork for the population enumeration phase of the census will be carried out during 2022-23.

What's new in census 2021?

 Census 2021 contains a provision for self-enumeration through an app. The forthcoming census is to be the first digital census and there is a provision for self-enumeration, Union Minister of State for Home Nityanand Rai said in a written reply to a question.

The census 2021 contains the provision to record the name of mother tongue, and two other languages in order of proficiency. The census would be conducted in 16 languages, the data collected for the census would not be used for NRC (National Register for Citizens) and the Census 2021 would not collect data on castes, Nityanand Rai also said in Lok Sabha

The Minister in March this year said in parliament that every Indian was legally bound to answer census questions. The Center, however, is yet to come up with the timeline for the Census this going to be conducted this year.

Significance of Census 2021. 

The census data is crucial for planning and development activities. The Indian census is the single largest source of a variety of statistical information. Many public policies are formulated keeping the consensus data in mind. Allotment of various funds to states takes place considering the census data. The Delimitation exercise is conducted based on the census figures as per the provisions contained in the constitution.