CENSUS 2027

5.  NPR

• The NPR, unlike the Census, is a comprehensive identity database of every "usual resident" in the country and the data proposed to be collected at the family level can be shared with States and other government departments.
• Though Census also collects similar information, the Census Act of 1948 bars sharing any individual's data with the State or Centre and only aggregate data at the administrative level can be released.
• According to Citizenship Rules 2003 under the Citizenship Act, 1955, NPR is the first step towards a compilation of the National Register of Indian Citizens (NRIC/NRC).
• Assam is the only State where an NRC has been compiled based on the directions of the Supreme Court, with the final draft of Assam's NRC excluding 19 lakhs of the 3.29 crores applicants.
•  Assam Government has rejected the NRC in its current form and demanded re-verification of 30 per cent of names included in the NRC in areas bordering Bangladesh and 10 per cent in the remaining State.
• In 2020, the NPR was opposed by several State governments such as West Bengal, Kerala, Rajasthan, Odisha, Bihar, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Punjab and Chhattisgarh and Civil Society Organisations due to its link with the proposed NRC as it might leave many people stateless for want of legacy documents.
• There are apprehensions that the Citizenship Amendment Act 9 (CAA), 2019 allows citizenship based on religion to six undocumented religious communities from Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh who entered India on or before December 31, 2014, will benefit non-Muslims excluded from the proposed citizens' register, while excluded.
• Muslims will have to prove their citizenship. The government has denied that the CAA and NRC are linked and there are currently any plans to compile a countrywide NRC.

5.1. The current status of NPR

• The NPR was first collected in 2010 when the Congres government was in power at the Centre.
• It was updated in 2015 and already has details of 119 crore residents.
• In March 2020, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) amended the Census Rules framed in 1990 to capture and store the Census data in an electronic form and enabled self-enumeration by respondents.
• The NPR is scheduled to be updated with the first phase of Census 2021.
• For this phase (house listing and household phase), 31 questions have been notified, while for the population enumeration, the second and main phase 28 questions have been finalised but are yet to be notified.
• The NPR is expected to collect details on 21 parameters of all family members, up from 14 questions in 2010 and 2015.
• The Sub-heads include passport number, relationship to head of the family, whether divorced/ widowed or separated, mother tongue if non-worker, cultivator, labourer, government employee, daily wage earner among others.
• The form also has a column on Aadhar, mobile phone, Voter ID and driver's licence.
• Though the government has claimed that the NPR form has not been finalised yet, the sample form is part of the Census of India 2021 Handbook for Principal/District Census Officers and Charge Officers in 2021.
• The NPR has retained contentious questions such as "mother tongue, place of birth of father and mother and last place of residence", possible indicators to determine inclusion in the Citizenship register.
• The questions were opposed by the State governments of West Bengal, Kerala, Rajasthan and Odisha in 2020.
• The final set of questions of both the phases and NPR was asked during a pre-test exercise in 2019 in 76 districts in 36 States and Union Territories covering a population of more than 26 lakhs.