Every Indian legally bound to reply census queries: Govt tells Lok Sabha

Every Indian is legally bound to answer census questions and all requisite steps are being taken to carry out the census and the National Population Register exercise smoothly, Lok Sabha was informed on Tuesday.

Union Minister of State for Home Nityanand Rai said the state governments appoint census officers to take or aid in or supervise the census exercise under the provisions of the Census Act 1948.

"Every person is legally bound to answer the census questions to the best of his or her knowable or belief.

"All requisite measures are taken with the support of the state governments to conduct the census and the National Population Register (NPR) exercise smoothly," he said in a written reply to a question.

The housing listing phase of the census and the exercise to update the NPR were scheduled to be carried out across the country from April 1 to September 30, 2020 but postponed due to the COVID-19 outbreak.

According to the earlier schedule, the reference date of the census was March 1, 2021 and October 1, 2020 in the snow-bound Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand.

The census operation continues to be on hold and the government has not yet announced the new schedule.