Digital India Adds Another Feather To Its Cap – Census Data To Go Digital

For the first time in seven decades, all new census data will be stored electronically. This rule was brought into action as the process for the 2021 census took off.

As reported by The Hindu, all the “schedules” or the forms that enumerators carry to household to collect data of individuals, other related documents that were until now stored in a physical form will now be stored electronically.

For the first time since the census were conducted in 1951, the data collected during the 2021 census will be only stored electronically. This change was brought in on 19 June by an amended rule notified by the Registrar General of India, which read “The schedules and other connected papers shall be disposed of totally or in part by the Director of Census Operations, after creating an electronic record of such documents,” as quoted by the daily.

“The records running into crores of pages were occupying space in government office and it has now been decided that they will be stored in an electronic format. Any tampering with the data will invite punishment under the Information Technology Act, 2000,” said a spokesperson of the Home Ministry, as quoted. House-listing is said to begin by 2020 and the headcount will begin from February 2021 onwards.

By going digital, data like an individual’s house data which was until now only published in the form of tables on the Census website and destroyed after 10 years will be stored forever.