India’s first fully digital census but is Phase 2 really needed?
On April 1, India began its first fully digital census. About 34 lakh enumerators are now doing the rounds with a mobile app, and for the first time, residents can also self-enumerate online and skip the door knock. The Cabinet has also confirmed that the second phase, in February 2027, will record each person’s specific jati— the first proper caste enumeration since 1931. The census may look like a numbercollection exercise, but it is in fact the schema underneath every welfare scheme, every reservation and every electoral seat. Moving it online changes the speed, granularity, and possibilities of governance itself. But it also raises new questions around data accuracy, exclusion, and digital dependency. Who gets counted, how they are recorded, and how that data is interpreted will shape decisions for the next decade. In a digital world, visibility itself becomes a form of infrastructure. News Source: Press Information Bureau
News Source: Press Information Bureau