Making sense of the census: Do young marketing execs grasp its importance?

For all marketing professionals working in large companies, the population census of India is a treasure trove of information. It gives a listing of all cities, towns, villages, population, as well as key features such as the number of households, electricity connections, bank accounts, internet connections, cooking gas, mobile and smartphones, bicycles, scooters, cars, etc. That makes it a vital guide for sales and marketing planning.

 

Unfortunately, we did not have the census in 2021 due to the pandemic. Hence, we have got used to rather loose definitions of metros, Tier 1 and Tier 2 towns, etc.

 

Do all young marketing executives understand the importance of the census? I have asked many management trainee candidates the question, “Can you define what is a ‘town’ according to the Census of India?’ and hears things like “Oh, a town is a conglomeration of population of over 50,000 people, no, 10,000 people should live in an area to be called a town.”

 

Really?

 

According to the Census of India, an urban area (consisting of towns) is defined as a place that meets the following criteria:

 

> Population of at least 5,000

 

> Population density of at least 400 people per square kilometre  

 

> At least 75 per cent of the male working population engaged in non-agricultural activities 

 

 One of the interesting features of the last census (2011) was the dramatic growth in the number of towns. The number of census towns increased rapidly between 2001 and 2011 due to a number of factors, including economic reforms, policy changes, and accelerated investment and trade. 

 

In 2011, India had 7,935 towns and cities, which was a significant increase from 5,161 in 2001. The jump in 2001 was also dramatic, from 1,700 in 1991.

 

Experts say the growth of newer, smaller cities at the expense of older, larger ones is a global trend. In India, I don’t think bigger cities are shrinking. Maybe some of them are not growing at the same rate as they were growing before. But one clear trend is the growth in the number of towns, many of them attached to a bigger city nearby.

 

The new Census is expected to be out by 2026, according to newspaper reports (Business Standard, October 29, 2024).  

 

What could be in store?

 

To do this crystal ball gazing, let us see what has been happening in the country over the last 14 years. We have had a year of negative GDP growth due to the pandemic, but if we ignore that, our economy has grown at a healthy clip. What has also happened is rapid growth of roads and railways, television and internet, bank accounts and digital payments. Government information says that over the last 10 years 95,000 km of national highways have been built. In addition to these national highways, each state has built its own infrastructure at a rapid pace.

 

We are also aware of the rapid growth of mobile internet and what it has brought about. Also, there has been rapid growth of bank accounts, debit cards, and adoption of digital payments across the country.

 

All these point towards a more rapid and more voluminous movement of labour across states and within states. India’s urban population was estimated to be 31.6 per cent in 2011 and projections say it has reached 36.4 per cent in 2023. When census enumeration is done in 2025, urban population may have crossed 40 per cent. This in turn will have significant implications in the world of marketing.

 

The other interesting trend is the rapidly diminishing differences between a small town and a large village. With increased mobility in the form of scooters or motorcycles, mobile internet, electricity, cooking gas, satellite TV (or DD’s free dish), the rural Indian is no longer being left behind.

 

As a CEO observed at a conference a few years ago, the only difference between an urban Indian and a rural Indian is that they live in places that are defined by the census as “urban” and “rural”. If there was an urban mindset and a rural mindset, that is history. Today we can see rural 

 

mindset in a big metropolis and urban (and urbane) mindset in a small village (the series Panchayat brought that alive quite well, as did the Tamil movie Meiyazagan).

 

In the past, census reports used to be released in stages and some reports took several years to see the light of the day. I suppose the new census will be done using digital devices and collation of data should take a fraction of the time it used to take with pen-and-paper surveys. This should facilitate an early release of data (maybe months, instead of years), making it useful for policy makers and marketers.

 

Census 2026 (as it may be called) will help us get a better picture and spur many more interesting questions to ask in marketing interviews.  

 

Ambi Parameswaran is an independent brand strategist and founder of Brand-building.com. He can be reached at ambimgp@brand-building.com