No decision yet on updating NPR along with Census, Pg1

Key Highlights:

• The two-day conference of Directors of Census Operations (July 3–4) included addresses by Union Home Secretary Govind Mohan and Registrar-General of India (RGI) Mritunjay Kumar Narayan. 
• No mention of NPR was made in the June 27 RGI letter to State Chief Secretaries on Census preparations.
• The first phase of Census 2027 is scheduled to begin in April 2026.
• Enumerators will use mobile applications for data collection, a first for Indian Census.
• Training of enumerators begins in July 2025, and a pre-test will be conducted between late August and early September 2025.
• The NPR was last updated in 2015-16, and it contains household-wise data of 119 crore usual residents.
• The NPR database, unlike Census data, can be shared with central and state agencies for governance purposes.
• The second phase of Census 2027, scheduled for February 2027, will include a caste enumeration, a first in post-independence India.
• No trial/pre-test of caste enumeration is planned, indicating methodology is yet to be finalised. 

Critical Issues:

• Lack of clarity over the NPR update raises concerns about citizenship-linked data usage and public trust.
• NPR’s link to NRC (as per Citizenship Rules, 2003) makes it a politically and socially sensitive issue.
• The exclusion of caste enumeration from the pre-test may lead to methodological errors or data inconsistencies. 
• Delayed Census (from 2021 to 2027) has created a critical data vacuum for policy-making and welfare targeting
• No clarity on whether NPR and Census will be integrated or parallel processes, adding administrative uncertainty
• Delay and indecision may affect implementation of key social welfare and development schemes
• Public apprehensions over NPR-NRC linkage may resurface, especially in minority and migrant communities. 

Way Forward:

• Government must provide transparent communication about NPR and its separation (or not) from NRC to avoid social unrest
• Clear guidelines and timeline for caste enumeration methodology must be finalized and tested before full rollout
• Ensure that data protection and privacy laws are enforced in digital Census processes
• Educate citizens on the utility and confidentiality of both NPR and Census data to improve participation and trust. 

 Key Concepts Involved:

• NPR (National Population Register): A database of all usual residents in India  created through house-to-house enumeration.
• NRC (National Register of Citizens): An official list of verified Indian citizens to establish legal citizenship.
• Caste enumeration: The process of collecting data on individuals’ caste identities during a census or survey for social and policy purposes.