What is a Census? Discuss the importance of Census for the economy and policy making.

Census refers to the documentation of a population, recording the growth in actual number and other characteristics such as birth rate etc. Importance for economy: a) Records birth rate, death rate, TFR etc. b) Status such as different religion, caste etc. c) Test happened in 1871 and is a dead exercise d) Records changes over time Importance for economy: a) Help in calculating the state of economic growth (e.g., per capita income - currently around $3500) b) Calculating various metrics: i) Labor force - person who are engaged in various activities and are willing to work force ii) Unemployment rate, workforce c) State of inclusive growth 1) Poverty data and poverty line estimation - currently about 11% (MDP/NITI) 2) Human development index - document people's status of education, health, standard of living Policy making: a) Evidence based policy making - poverty targeting based on actual numbers b) Identify hotspots of poverty alleviation to malnourishment (e.g. states such as Odisha, Northeast etc.) c) Better targeting of vulnerable sections for various schemes (e.g. Ayushman Bharat) d) Input-output model - can make policy more grounded & holistic (e.g.) Jal Jeevan Mission e) Ensure current sectiles taken into account (e.g. Caste census, family planning census will help to compare our progress over the last decade.