India’s already delayed 2021 decadal census has been postponed “until further orders” due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the Union ministry of home affairs informed Parliament on Tuesday.
The intent of the Government for conducting Census 2021 was notified in the Gazette of India on 28th March, 2019. “Due to the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic, the Census 2021 and the related field activities have been postponed until further orders.
The date of freezing the boundaries of administrative units has been extended up to December 31, 2022,” stated the Minister of State for Home Affairs, Nityanand Rai in a written reply to a question in the Rajya Sabha today.
Mobile and web applications for collection of data and a Portal (CMMS) for management and monitoring of various Census related activities have been developed, he also informed. An expenditure of Rs. 24.84 crore has so far been incurred on development of mobile applications, web applications, CMMS portal and related activities, he added.