Outcome of Census 2027 will serve as new compass for development: Amit Shah
New Delhi: Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Friday said the outcome of the Census 2027 will serve as the new compass for development, mirroring India's latest population data with more accuracy.
Shah said the Union Cabinet approved the budget for Census 2027 by earmarking Rs 11,718.24 crore for the largest administrative and statistical exercise in the world.
In a message posted on X, he said, "The precision in data will accelerate Modi Ji's vision of delivering the benefits of good governance and development to citizens of every demographic denomination, making the slogan of 'Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas' a grand reality of New India in the Amrit Kaal."
Shah also hailed the decision to substantially increase the minimum support price (MSP) for milling copra by 129 per cent and ball copra by 127 per cent from what they were in 2014.
He said the move will usher in a new era of prosperity for coconut growers, reflecting Prime Minister Narendra Modi's commitment to farmers.
"Heartiest congratulations to the coconut growers spread across the nation on the Union Cabinet's decision to substantially increase the MSP for copra," he said.
On the reforms announced in coal linkage policy in the Cabinet meeting, the home minister said the vision of a self-reliant India in energy production envisaged by Prime Minister Modi received a new boost with the Union Cabinet's approval of the Reforms in Coal Linkage Policy called 'CoalSETU'.
"The move will make coal seamlessly available for domestic industries, slashing import bills, and enable washed coal to be exported, spurring prosperity in the sector," he said.
The Union Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, chaired by Prime Minister Modi, approved the Policy for Auction of Coal Linkage for Seamless, Efficient & Transparent Utilisation (CoalSETU), according to an official statement.
The policy will allow allocation of coal linkages on an auction basis for long-term use for any industrial use and export by adding a separate window named 'CoalSETU' in the NRS (non-regulated sector) Linkage Auction Policy of 2016.
The Union Cabinet also approved Rs 11,718 crore for conducting the Census of India, 2027, which would include the caste enumeration for the first time.
Addressing a briefing, Information and Broadcasting Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said the cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, approved the proposal to conduct the Census which will be the first digital exercise.
The 16th edition of the Census since Independence will do a caste enumeration besides giving an option of self-enumeration to the citizens.
The decadal exercise, which was scheduled to take place in 2021, got postponed due to the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic across the country.
The Census will be conducted in two phases -- house-listing and housing census from April to September, 2026; and population enumeration (PE) in February 2027.
For Ladakh and snow-bound non-synchronous areas of the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir and states of Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand, the PE exercise shall be conducted in September, 2026, the minister said.
Around 30 lakh enumerators will visit each and every household and canvass a separate questionnaire for Houselisting & Housing Census and Population Enumeration.
The Census 2027 will also capture caste data electronically in the PE phase.
