Conduct 16th population, 8th economic census jointly: MoSPI

The Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation ( MoSPI) has asked the Registrar General & Census Commissioner of India to integrate preliminary work for the eighth economic census with the 16th population census.

In the past, the economic census has been conducted twice with the population census. The second and third economic censuses were carried out in 1980 and 1990 along with houselisting operations of 1981 and 1991 population censuses, respectively.

"We had a meeting with them last week," a MoSPI official told ET.

While collecting information, they can include a column to indicate whether economic activity is being carried out in the household and its nature. These details can be shared with MoSPI, which can then handle the rest of data processing, the official added.

"The operations of the census involve listing of addresses of enterprises through household approach and therefore, it was considered economical and expedient to organise the second economic census along with the houselisting operations of population census," according to the 1990 economic census report.

In June, the government announced that the 16th census will be conducted in two phases. For snow-bound and remote regions such as Ladakh, Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand, the reference date will be October 1, 2026 and for the rest of the country, it will be March 1, 2027.

MoSPI has begun preparations for the eight economic census. As previously reported by ET, committees have been established at both state and district levels.

"This economic census will be more technology driven, with work ongoing on an end-to-end digital solution for data generation," MoSPI secretary Saurabh Garg had told ET earlier. The seventh economic census, launched in 2019 and completed in 2021 after delays due to the Covid-19 pandemic, is yet to be released owing to concerns over data quality.