The 15th Indian National census was conducted in two phases, houselisting and population enumeration. Houselisting phase began on April 1, 2010 and involved collection of information about all buildings. Information for National Population Register was also collected in the first phase, which will be used to issue a 12-digit unique identification number to all registered Indians by Unique Identification Authority of India. The second population enumeration phase was conducted between 9 to 28 February 2011. Census has been conducted in India since 1872 and 2011 marks the first time biometric information was collected. According to the provisional reports released on March 31, 2011, the Indian population increased to 1.21 billion with a decadal growth of 17.64%. Adult literacy rate increased to 74.04% with a decadal growth of 9.21%.
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Spread across 35 states and union territories, the Census covered 640 districts, 5767 tehsils, 7742 towns and more than 6 lac villages. 2.7 million officials visited households in 7,935 towns and 6,40,867 villages, classifying the population according to gender, religion, education and occupation.[1] The cost of the exercise was approximately 2,200 crore (US$418 million) – this comes to less than $ 0.5 per person, well below the estimated world average of $4.6 per person.[1] Conducted every 10 years,this census faced big challenges considering India's vast area and diversity of cultures and opposition from the manpower involved.
Information on castes was included in the census following demands from several ruling coalition leaders including Lalu Prasad Yadav, Sharad Yadav and Mulayam Singh Yadav supported by opposition parties Bharatiya Janata Party, Akali Dal, Shiv Sena and Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam.[2] Information on caste was last collected during the British Raj in 1931. During the early census, people often exaggerated their caste status to garner social status and it is expected that people downgrade it now in the expectation of gaining government benefits.[3]
There is only one instance of a caste-count in post-independence India. It was conducted in Kerala in 1968 by the Communist government under E. M. S. Namboodiripad to assess the social and economic backwardness of various lower castes. The census was termed Socio-Economic Survey of 1968 and the results were published in the Gazetteer of Kerala, 1971.[4]
C.Chandramouli is the Registrar General and commissioner of 2011 indian census.Census data was collected in 16 languages and training manual was prepared in 18 languages.The census was conducted in two phases. The first houselisting phase began on April 1, 2010 and involved collection of data about all the buildings and census houses.[5] Information for National population register was also collected in the first phase. The second population enumeration phase was conducted from 28February 2011 all over the country.
Houselisting' Schedule contained 35 questions.[6]
| Building number Census house number Predominant material of floor, wall and roof of the census house Ascertain use of actual house Condition of the census house Household number Total number of persons in the household Name of the head of the household Sex of the head Caste status (SC or ST or others) |
Ownership status of the house Number of dwelling rooms Number of married couple the household Main source of drinking water Availability of drinking water source Main source of lighting Latrine within the premises Type of latrine facility Waste water outlet connection Bathing facility within the premises |
Availability of kitchen Fuel used for cooking Radio/Transistor Television Computer/Laptop Telephone/Mobile phone Bicycle Scooter/Motor cycle/Moped Car/Jeep/Van Availing Banking services |
Population enumeration schedule contained 29 questions.[7][8]
| Name of the person Relationship to head Sex Date of birth and age Current marital status Age at marriage Religion Scheduled Caste/Scheduled Tribe Disability Mother tongue |
Other languages known Literacy status Status of attendance (Education) Highest educational level attained Working any time during last year Category of economic activity Occupation Nature of industry Trade or service Class of worker Non economic activity |
Seeking or available for work Travel to place of work Birth place Place of last residence Reason for migration Duration of stay in in the place of migration Children surviving Children ever born Number of children born alive during last one year |
National Population Register Household schedule contained 9 questions.[9]
| Name of the person and resident status Name of the person as should appear in the population register Relationship to head Sex Date of birth Marital status Educational qualification Occupation/Activity Names of father, mother and spouse |
Once the information will be collected and digitalised, fingerprints and photos will be collected. Unique Identification Authority of India will issue a 12-digit identification number to all individuals and the first ID is expected to be issued in 2011.[10][11][12]
Provisional data from the census was released on March 31, 2011. Complete results are expected to be released in 2012.[13]
| Population | Total | 1,210,193,422 |
| Males | 623,724,248 | |
| Females | 586,469,174 | |
| Literacy | Total | 74.04% |
| Males | 82.14% | |
| Females | 65.46% | |
| Density of population | per km2 | 382 |
| Sex ratio | per 1000 males | 940 females |
| Child Sex ratio (0-6 age group) | per 1000 males | 914 females |
The population of India at 0:00 hours of 1 March 2011 was 1,210,193,422. India added 181 million to its population since 2001, slightly lower than the population of Brazil. India with 2.4% of the world's surface area accounts for 17.5 % of its population. Uttar Pradesh is the most populous state with roughly 200 million people. About 5 out of 10 Indians live in the five states of Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Bihar, West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh. [14]
Religion returns in Indian census provide a wonderful kaleidoscope of the country s rich social composition, as many religions have originated in the country and few religions of foreign origin have also flourished here. India has the distinction of being the land from where important religions namely Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism and Jainism have originated at the same time the country is home to several indigenous faiths tribal religions which have survived the influence of major religions for centuries and are holding the ground firmly Regional con-existence of diverse religious groups in the country makes it really unique and the epithet unity in diversity is brought out clearly in the Indian Census.
Ever since its inception, the Census of India has been collecting and publishing information about the religious affiliations as expressed by the people of India. In fact, population census has the rate distinction of being the only instrument that collets the information son this diverse and important characteristic of the Indian population.
Any one above age 7 who can read and write in any language with an ability to understand was considered a literate. In censuses before 1991, children below the age 5 were treated as illiterates. The literacy rate taking the entire population into account is termed as "crude literacy rate", and taking the population from age 7 and above into account is termed as "effective literacy rate". Effective literacy rate increased to a total of 74.04% with 82.14% of the males and 65.46% of the females being literate.[15]
| Census year | Total (%) | Male (%) | Female (%) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1901 | 5.35 | 9.83 | 0.60 |
| 1911 | 5.92 | 10.56 | 1.05 |
| 1921 | 7.16 | 12.21 | 1.81 |
| 1931 | 9.5 | 15.59 | 2.93 |
| 1941 | 16.1 | 24.9 | 7.3 |
| 1951 | 16.67 | 24.95 | 9.45 |
| 1961 | 24.02 | 34.44 | 12.95 |
| 1971 | 29.45 | 39.45 | 18.69 |
| 1981 | 36.23 | 46.89 | 24.82 |
| 1991 | 42.84 | 52.74 | 32.17 |
| 2001 | 64.83 | 75.26 | 53.67 |
| 2011 | 74.04 | 82.14 | 65.46 |