Azim Premji University and the Directorate of Census Operations, Karnataka, on Friday, February 9, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to set up a dedicated workstation at the university’s Bengaluru campus to facilitate research on anonymised raw census data. This facility will be available for all members and students of Azim Premji University and external researchers for academic purposes.

Indian Census, with a history of over 130 years, is the largest single source of statistical information on the various characteristics of the Indian population and has been a key source of data for scholars and researchers across many disciplines.

The Office of Registrar General & Census Commissioner, India (ORG-CCI) conducts the decennial population Census, tabulates and disseminates the data through its state offices, the Directorate of Census Operations. The decennial Census collects data on a range of topics, including social, demographic, economic and other related aspects and offers a wealth of information on various socio-economic indicators.

The MoU was signed by Vijay Kumar SB, Director, Directorate of Census Operations, Karnataka, and Indu Prasad, Vice-Chancellor, Azim Premji University. 

The dedicated workstation at the university will provide desktops with analytical software and a printing facility. Researchers may submit their proposal to the Data Centre, Knowledge Resource Centre, Azim Premji University, along with a request for cross-tabulation data. The proposal will be reviewed by a committee that will decide on the access to data. Researchers must work on their proposal from the dedicated facility at the university.