Previous Year Question

The first modern census exercise in India took place during 1871–72 under the administration of Lord Mayo. It was a non-synchronous census, meaning that population enumeration was conducted at different times in different parts of the country. Efforts towards extensive census enumeration began in the 1860s and continued until 1872. Therefore, the examination associates 1871 with the initial census exercise.

The first regular and synchronous census was conducted in 1881 during the tenure of Lord Ripon. It involved the enumeration of populations across different regions using a common reference date. Thereafter, the practice of conducting a census every ten years became established in India. Thus, the censuses of 1871–72 and 1881 represent two distinct historical milestones.

Census operations in India are governed by the provisions of the Census Act, 1948. The responsibility for conducting the census rests with the Office of the Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India, functioning under the Union Ministry of Home Affairs. Census operations collect information on population, age, sex, literacy, housing, migration, and other demographic characteristics.

The first census of independent India was conducted in 1951, while the 2011 Census was the seventh after independence and the fifteenth in the series counted from 1872. Census data are important for studying population distribution, urbanisation, population growth, and socioeconomic conditions. They are used in government planning, resource allocation, and the formulation of development policies.