Modi govt to launch delayed census in September, results expected by 2026: Report | India Latest News

India is likely to finally begin its long-delayed census in September, Reuters reported, citing two people familiar with the matter. The decade-long exercise, which was scheduled for 2021 but was postponed due to the Covid-19 pandemic, will help address significant data gaps in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s third term.

According to Reuters, two government officials directly involved in the process confirmed that the comprehensive study will last about 18 months, with results expected to be published in March 2026.

The ongoing delays in the census have drawn heavy criticism, with economists and policymakers inside and outside the government saying the delay has affected the accuracy and relevance of various statistical surveys, including those on economic data, inflation and employment estimates.

Read: Without a census, a budget is a policy without data

Currently, most of these data sets are based on the outdated 2011 census, which makes many government programs and policies less effective.

The Ministry of Interior and the Ministry of Statistics and Program Implementation were working on a detailed schedule for the census, according to the report. However, final approval is awaited from the Prime Minister’s Office.

Despite the urgency of the task, the federal government has slashed this year’s budget for the 2021 census.

Initially, the Council of Ministers approved the budget of ₹8754.23 crore for census and additional ₹3941.35 crore for updating the National Population Register (NPR). However, in the Union Budget 2024-25, the allocation has been reduced to ₹1309 crore, a drastic reduction compared to ₹3,768 crore has been earmarked for 2021-22.

Budget cuts have cast a shadow over this year’s exercises.

Last month, Congress leader Jairam Ramesh had expressed disappointment over the fact that the finance minister’s budget announcements did not mention adequate funding for the census.

“For the first time since independence, the government failed to conduct a population census on time,” he said.

“The implications for the administrative capacity of the state are serious – one example is the 10-12 crore people who have been excluded from the ambit of the National Food Security Act. It also means that the government is likely to continue to avoid a caste-based socio-economic census despite calls from its own NDA partners for one,” Ramesh added.

The 2021 census will be the first digital census in which citizens will be able to enumerate their population themselves.