fbpx
Daily Current Affairs for UPSC

National Population Register (NPR)

Syllabus- Government Policies and Interventions [GS Paper-2]

Context- For Evaluation 2021, the Government has made the National Population Register (NPR) compulsory, permitting residents to self-specify, for people who wish to finish up the registration structure themselves as opposed to depending on government enumerators.

Key Highlights 

  • Self-enumeration is when respondents themselves complete questionnaires for the census. Only homes that have updated NPR online will be able to self-enumerate.
  • Aadhaar, also known as a mobile number, will be required to be collected during self-enumeration.

What set of Surveys have been Concluded for the Following Evaluation?

  • The forthcoming Census will be the first one to be conducted digitally, allowing respondents to complete the questionnaire from the comfort of their own homes.
  • While the questions for the Population Enumeration phase have not yet been announced, the set of questions for the Houselisting and Housing Schedule phase has been finalized.
  • New questions about commute time and metro rail usage are revealed when comparing the 2011 Census to the 2012 Census.
  • Additional categories like acid attack, intellectual disability, chronic neurological disease, and blood disorder are included in the disability question.
  • In addition, data on whether renters own or do not own residential property will be gathered during the upcoming Census.
  • The availability of potable water within specific distances of the premises is clarified.

What is the National Population Register?

  • NPR is an information base containing a rundown of all typical inhabitants of the country.
  • For the purposes of NPR, a person is considered to be a usual resident if they have been there at least six months and intend to stay there for another six months or more.
  • Its goal is to create a comprehensive database of people’s identities who live in the country.
  • During the Census’ “house-listing” phase, it is produced through house-to-house enumeration.
  • NPR was first gathered in 2010. It was refreshed in 2015 and right now has subtleties of 119 crore occupants.
  • The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) made changes to the 1990 Census Rules in March 2020 to make it possible for respondents to self-enumerate and store the Census data electronically.

Legal Support:

  • The Citizenship (Registration of Citizens and Issue of National Identity Cards) Rules, 2003 and the Citizenship Act of 1955 govern the preparation of the NPR.
  • Every “usual resident of India” is required to sign up for NPR.

Significance:

  • Residents’ data will be streamlined across multiple platforms.
  • For instance, individuals frequently provide varying dates of birth on various government documents. NPR will assist with killing that.
  • It will support national security and assist the government in better formulating its policies.
  • It will assist with focusing on government recipients in a superior manner and furthermore further cut down desk work and formality likewise that Aadhaar has done.
  • It will assist in the implementation of the government’s recently proposed “One Identity Card” concept.
  • The “One Identity Card” initiative aims to eliminate the need for multiple copies of various documents, such as the Aadhaar card, voter ID card, banking card, and passport.

NPR and NRC:

  • As indicated by Citizenship Rules 2003, NPR is the most vital move towards gathering a Public Register of Residents (NRC). After a rundown of occupants is made (i.e., NPR), a cross country NRC could approach confirming the residents from that rundown.
  • However, the NPR is not a citizenship enumeration campaign like the NRC because it records even foreigners who have lived in a community for more than six months.
  • The NRC is a register that was created following the 1951 Census for each village. It shows the houses or holdings in a sequential order and lists the number of people who live in each house or holding.

What distinguishes NPR from the Census?

    • Objective:
      • The statistics includes a point by point survey – there were 29 things to be topped off in the 2011 registration – pointed toward evoking the specifics of each and every individual, including age, sex, conjugal status, kids, occupation, origination, primary language, religion, handicap and whether they had a place with any Booked Standing or Planned Clan.
      • NPR, on the other hand, gathers basic biometric and demographic information.
  • Legal basis:
      • The 1948 Census Act provides legal support for the census.
      • A set of guidelines drafted in accordance with the Citizenship Act of 1955 define the NPR as a mechanism.
  • Comprehensive Identity Database:
    • The NPR, in contrast to the Registration, is an extensive personality data set of each “typical occupant” in the nation and the information proposed to be gathered at the family level can be imparted to States and other government divisions.
    • The Census Act of 1948 prohibits sharing any individual’s data with the State or the Center, and only aggregate data at the administrative level can be released, despite the fact that Census also collects similar data.
image_pdfDownload as PDF
Alt Text

Related Articles

Back to top button
Shopping cart0
There are no products in the cart!
0