It's time to be counted
MURALI N. KRISHNASWAMY
MURALI N. KRISHNASWAMY
It's Census time again. But why get counted? Well, the census is the basis for reviewing our progress in the previous decade and more importantly, also for planning the future.
What's this about world population? Why is it relevant? World Population Day is observed on July 11 and it tries to raise awareness of global population issues. According to the United Nations Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon, population data helps leaders and policy makers to make knowledgeable decisions about policies and programmes in order to reduce poverty and hunger, and advance education, health and gender equality. It is also needed to effectively respond to humanitarian crises. The theme this year is “Everyone Counts”.
If you look carefully on the outside of your front door, you may find a small square red-and-white sticker that says “… Census of India 2011”.
Look at it more closely, and its logo will tell you much more … A census team and enumerator should have visited your home, asked you questions and written down your answers in a census form.
Some of the queries must have been about:
Names of all the members; their ages; where they were born;
How are the members related?
Who are the ones employed?
What jobs do they hold?
Is the house owner-occupied?
What are the educational qualifications of the members?
If you look carefully on the outside of your front door, you may find a small square red-and-white sticker that says “… Census of India 2011”.
Look at it more closely, and its logo will tell you much more … A census team and enumerator should have visited your home, asked you questions and written down your answers in a census form.
Some of the queries must have been about:
Names of all the members; their ages; where they were born;
How are the members related?
Who are the ones employed?
What jobs do they hold?
Is the house owner-occupied?
What are the educational qualifications of the members?
When did the members start residing in the present house and for how long? …
Census is the basis for reviewing our progress in the previous decade and most importantly, also in planning for the future.
The Indian Census is said to be “the largest single source of a variety of statistical information on different characteristics of the people of India”. The first census was held in our country in 1872. Since then, a census has taken place without interruption.
The “Census of India 2011”, as it is called, will be the 15th census and the seventh after Independence. It will also be important, as a National Population Register (NPR) will be prepared from the information gathered. It will include an “NPR Coastal Project”.
A big exercise
In his message, the Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram has said, “I wish to point out that the National Population register is an important event. Never before have we tried an exercise of that scale.
In fact, nowhere in the world has a Government tried to count, identify and issue identity cards to more than a billion people. This is the biggest exercise, I believe, since humankind came into existence.”
People will also get unique ID numbers and National Identity Cards. The slogan for Census 2011 is “Our Census, Our Future”.
Once all the data has been processed and cleared, (it includes biometric data as well), it will be sent to the Unique Identity Authority of India (UIDAI). The final database with the UID numbers will then be sent back to the Office of the Registrar General and Census Commissioner, India (ORG&CCI) and become a part of the NPR.
If you are 15 years or older, you will get a UID number. And for those of you who are younger (below 15), your UID is “linked to the parent/guardian”.
President Pratibha Patil was the first person to be listed, and has appealed to all of us to help in making this a success “for the good of the nation”. So, are you ready?
POPClock
Census is the basis for reviewing our progress in the previous decade and most importantly, also in planning for the future.
The Indian Census is said to be “the largest single source of a variety of statistical information on different characteristics of the people of India”. The first census was held in our country in 1872. Since then, a census has taken place without interruption.
The “Census of India 2011”, as it is called, will be the 15th census and the seventh after Independence. It will also be important, as a National Population Register (NPR) will be prepared from the information gathered. It will include an “NPR Coastal Project”.
A big exercise
In his message, the Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram has said, “I wish to point out that the National Population register is an important event. Never before have we tried an exercise of that scale.
In fact, nowhere in the world has a Government tried to count, identify and issue identity cards to more than a billion people. This is the biggest exercise, I believe, since humankind came into existence.”
People will also get unique ID numbers and National Identity Cards. The slogan for Census 2011 is “Our Census, Our Future”.
Once all the data has been processed and cleared, (it includes biometric data as well), it will be sent to the Unique Identity Authority of India (UIDAI). The final database with the UID numbers will then be sent back to the Office of the Registrar General and Census Commissioner, India (ORG&CCI) and become a part of the NPR.
If you are 15 years or older, you will get a UID number. And for those of you who are younger (below 15), your UID is “linked to the parent/guardian”.
President Pratibha Patil was the first person to be listed, and has appealed to all of us to help in making this a success “for the good of the nation”. So, are you ready?
POPClock
UNBELIEVABLE: Seven billion by 2011?
The World “POPClock” projection, or population clock, according to the International Programs Center, U.S. Census Bureau, declared 6,854,120,111 as the total population of the world as on June 7, 2010. And here are some more interesting facts and figures that it gives.
The population of the world, in 1804, reached one billion, which doubled in 1927, became three billion in 1960, turned four billion in 1974, five billion in 1987, and six billion in 1999. It is projected to increase by another billion, to become seven billion by late 2011, and around eight billion by 2025. By 2050, the figure, it says, can be anywhere between 7.4 billion and 10.6 billion.
The “Day of three billion” people, and later “four billion”, were not officially celebrated, but the U.S. Census Bureau records them to be in July 1959 and April 1974. We also know that the United Nations celebrated the “Day of 5 Billion” on July 11, 1987, and the “Day of 6 Billion” on October 12, 1999. Now, the “Day of 7 Billion” is supposed to be sometime in July 2012. (The U.N. says late- 2011.) By 2050, the world will have to produce an enormous amount of food to feed so many people, taking into account the falling energy sources.
Branded
What AADHAAR or the UID brand name and logo means. AADHAAR means “foundation” or “support”, and is a word present in a number of Indian languages. According to Mr. Nandan Nilekani, Chairman, UIDAI, “The name ‘AADHAAR' communicates the fundamental role of the number issued by the UIDAI.” The design is a sun in red and yellow, with a fingerprint traced across its centre. It represents a new dawn of equal opportunity for every citizen. “The sun symbolises a promise that shines on all residents equally – the number would enable access to services and resources for everyone, including people who have long been disadvantaged, such as marginal groups, migrants, and women and children. The fingerprint within the sun indicates that the promise of AADHAAR stems from its uniqueness.” The combination of the sun and the fingerprint represents a positive transformation in the life of every person.The idea of ‘light' within the logo means that there will be greater transparency in welfare programmes, and that the poor will no longer “be invisible”. The red and yellow colours representing the shades of the sun are, at the same time, the traditional festive Indian colours. They will help draw attention in publicity material.
The World “POPClock” projection, or population clock, according to the International Programs Center, U.S. Census Bureau, declared 6,854,120,111 as the total population of the world as on June 7, 2010. And here are some more interesting facts and figures that it gives.
The population of the world, in 1804, reached one billion, which doubled in 1927, became three billion in 1960, turned four billion in 1974, five billion in 1987, and six billion in 1999. It is projected to increase by another billion, to become seven billion by late 2011, and around eight billion by 2025. By 2050, the figure, it says, can be anywhere between 7.4 billion and 10.6 billion.
The “Day of three billion” people, and later “four billion”, were not officially celebrated, but the U.S. Census Bureau records them to be in July 1959 and April 1974. We also know that the United Nations celebrated the “Day of 5 Billion” on July 11, 1987, and the “Day of 6 Billion” on October 12, 1999. Now, the “Day of 7 Billion” is supposed to be sometime in July 2012. (The U.N. says late- 2011.) By 2050, the world will have to produce an enormous amount of food to feed so many people, taking into account the falling energy sources.
Branded
What AADHAAR or the UID brand name and logo means. AADHAAR means “foundation” or “support”, and is a word present in a number of Indian languages. According to Mr. Nandan Nilekani, Chairman, UIDAI, “The name ‘AADHAAR' communicates the fundamental role of the number issued by the UIDAI.” The design is a sun in red and yellow, with a fingerprint traced across its centre. It represents a new dawn of equal opportunity for every citizen. “The sun symbolises a promise that shines on all residents equally – the number would enable access to services and resources for everyone, including people who have long been disadvantaged, such as marginal groups, migrants, and women and children. The fingerprint within the sun indicates that the promise of AADHAAR stems from its uniqueness.” The combination of the sun and the fingerprint represents a positive transformation in the life of every person.The idea of ‘light' within the logo means that there will be greater transparency in welfare programmes, and that the poor will no longer “be invisible”. The red and yellow colours representing the shades of the sun are, at the same time, the traditional festive Indian colours. They will help draw attention in publicity material.
