Budget 2023: ₹1,564 crore allocated for Census 2021 | Latest News India | Times Of Ahmedabad

A total of ₹1,564 crore was proposed for the Census 2021 and related activities in the Union Budget 2023-24 presented by Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman in the Parliament on Wednesday. It is part of the overall budget allocation of ₹1.96 lakh crore to the ministry of home affairs (MHA).

The current allocation is three times higher compared to current fiscal revised budget of ₹552.65 crore. Initially, the budget was estimated at ₹3,676 crore for the Census exercise but was later revised.

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The latest allocation of 1,564.65 crore for the Census, Survey and Statistics/Registrar General of India (RGI), the budget document says, “…includes provisions for the office of the Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India and various schemes of RGI, including National Population Register (NPR) and expenditure on Census, 2021.”

The Centre has repeatedly claimed that the decennial exercise was delayed due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

The decennial exercise was previously extended from December 31, 2020, to December 21, 2021, owing to the pandemic and then for another six months each till December 2022. Now, the 2021 Census of India, also the 16th Indian Census, has been postponed till October 2023, at least.

Originally, the fieldwork of house-listing and Housing Census, the first phase of Census 2021, along with the updating of the NPR, was to be conducted for 45 days from April 2020 to September 2020 in different states and union territories, depending on their local conditions and other priorities. After the house listing, the population enumeration was to be carried out between February 9 and 28, 2021.

Last month, RGI wrote to all the states and union territories, informing them about extending the date for making changes to administrative boundaries till June end 2023. RGI’s letter to states/UTs meant that the freezing of boundaries of administrative jurisdictions will take place on June 30.

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During a Census operation – both the house-listing phase and the population enumeration – the states and union territories are not supposed to change the boundaries of districts, towns, villages and tehsils.

According to the rules, the Census exercise can begin only three months after the freezing of administrative boundaries, effectively delaying the Census 2021 process till September this year.

This is the fifth straight budget announced by Sitharam and also the last one that will be presented by the Prime Minister Modi government before the 2024 General elections.

PM Modi on Wednesday lauded the Union Budget 2023 saying, “First budget of Amrit Kaal will build a strong foundation for building a developed India. This budget will fulfil dreams of aspirational society including poor people, middle-class people, farmers”, he said in his address.