Sonia expresses concern over census delay, says denying millions food security
The census, which was due in 2021, provides data about social and economic indicators apart from the headcount and helps design other surveys and data sets
Congress leader Sonia Gandhi on Monday expressed concern over the delay in the decennial census by over four years and said outdated data has led to the exclusion of millions of eligible people from food security benefits under the National Food Security Act (NFSA).
Speaking in Rajya Sabha, Gandhi cited the budget allocations and said they showed the census was unlikely to be conducted this year too. She said the delay in the census prevented necessary revisions to beneficiary quotas, which continue to rely on data from the 2011 census despite the country’s growing population. Gandhi estimated around 140 million people were being deprived of their right to food benefits under the NFSA and called on the government to act.
The census, which was due in 2021, provides data about social and economic indicators apart from the headcount and helps design other surveys and data sets. There has been a widespread demand for enumerating other castes along with Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in the census that has been counting on a sub-caste basis.
The fresh census will provide the basis for delimitation to potentially change the proportion of state-wise representation in Parliament and the implementation of women’s reservation in legislatures. The law for the reservation of one-third of seats for women in legislatures was passed in 2023. It will come into effect after the delimitation exercise is undertaken based on the next census.
Gandhi said for the first time in the history of independent India, the decennial census has been delayed by over four years. “Originally scheduled for 2021, there is still no clarity on when census will be conducted,” she said.
She asked the government to conduct the census and rectify the exclusion of deserving individuals from NFSA benefits. “Food security is not a privilege. It is a fundamental right,” Gandhi said.
Gandhi called the NFSA, which was introduced when the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance was in power in 2013, a landmark initiative aimed at ensuring food and nutritional security. “Under the NFSA, 75% of the rural population and 50% of the urban population are entitled to receive subsidised food grains,” she said, “The quota for beneficiaries is still determined based on the 2011 census, which is now well over a decade old.”
Gandhi asked the government to prioritise the completion of the census as soon as possible and ensure that all deserving receive the benefits guaranteed to them under the NFSA. She said the NFSA played a critical role in protecting millions of vulnerable households from starvation, particularly during the Covid-19 pandemic. Gandhi added it provided the basis for the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana for free food grain distribution.