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Population Census PDF

225 Pages·2009·1.04 MB·English
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CSO-M-POPU-2-2009 MANUAL ON VITAL STATISTICS June 2009 Government of India Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation Central Statistical Organisation PREFACE One of the mandates of the Central Statistical Organisation [CSO] is that of laying down norms and standards and evolving concepts, definitions, methodology and classification in relation to official statistics. Even though the CSO has been performing these mandates in many fields of statistics, the absence of proper documentation in this regard led to a decision to prepare, to start with, statistical manuals in respect of an identified list of 24 subjects detailing concepts, definitions, classification procedures, compilation of data, estimating procedures, dissemination and other relevant explanatory notes, including methodological framework in the statistical indicators/statistics to make these manuals comprehensive reference books comparable to the manuals being brought out by the UNSD from time to time. 2. This manual on Population Census is one in the series of such manuals on statistical indicators proposed to be brought out by the CSO. The basic purpose of this manual, like those of the others in the series, is to provide the users of Indian Census data with a ready-to-use reference guide inter-alia on methodological aspects of data (metadata) on census based on harmonised concepts and methodologies that, among other things, facilitate international comparison and help in aggregation of statistics to draw meaningful conclusions. Another purpose of this manual is to provide the statistical offices, both at the national and state levels, with guidelines in the compilation of population census data. 3. The details/information included in this manual are expected to bring about harmonization and uniformly in concepts, definitions and methodology of compilation of population census data. The adoption of the methodology suggested in this manual, it is expected, can go a long way in facilitating data aggregation and data comparison, not only at intra-regional and inter-regional levels, but also at the international levels. 4. This manual has been prepared, basically at the instance of the Central Statistical Organisation (CSO), by Shri K.S. Natarajan, Deputy Registrar General of India (Rtd.) under the guidance of Steering Committee for Preparation of Manuals on Statistical Indicators headed by the Director General, CSO. I take this opportunity to place on record the support provided by the concerned officers of Registrar of India and the Social Statistics Division of CSO in bringing about improvement in the draft of the manual. 5. I hope that this manual will serve as a useful reference document on the subject. Any comments/suggestions towards improving the scope, contents, lay out etc. of this manual from the readers/users of this manual would be welcome and deeply appreciated. (S. K. Das) New Delhi Director General Dated June 2, 2009 Central Statistical Organisation I - SOURCES OF DEMOGRAPHIC DATA IN INDIA 1.1 Important sources of demographic data in India are (1) Population Census (2 ) Civil registration system (3) Demographic sample surveys such as National Sample Surveys (NSS), Sample Registration System (SRS) and (4) Health Surveys, such as National Family Health Surveys, (NFHS), District level household Surveys for assessing progress under the Reproductive and Child Health programme (DLHS-RCH ). This manual discusses the salient features of each of these sources of demographic data, their strengths and limitations. Population Census 1.2 India has a record of unbroken census since 1881. The census of 1881 was the first step forward towards a modern synchronous and comprehensive operation in which a lot of effort was made not only to ensure complete coverage but also on the classification of data by demographic, economic and social characteristics. Since then the census provides a population database at 10 year intervals. While there was no statutory backing for collecting population census data, in British India, after independence, a comprehensive Act has been enacted to conduct census and collect data. 1.3 Population Census is the most comprehensive source of demographic data in India. The advantage of census is that some of the data like population size by sex, literacy status and number of workers are available at lowest area level. A large set of data are also available at district and state level. Data available up to district level are: (1) Age-Sex Distribution, (2) Marital Status, (3) population classified by educational level, religion & mother tongue and (5) Population classified by worker and non worker ,industrial and occupational classification of workers and migration . Data on housing condition, a few basic amenities available to the household, and fertility are also available in recent censuses. Civil Registration System 1.4 According to the United Nations, civil registration is defined as the continuous permanent and compulsory recording of the occurrence of vital events, like, live births, deaths, fetal deaths, marriages, divorces as well as annulments, judicial separation, adoptions, legitimations and recognitions. Civil registration is performed under a law, decree or regulation so as to provide a legal basis to the records and certificates made from the system, which has got several uses in the personal life of individual citizens. Moreover, the information collected through the 1 registration process provides very useful and important vital statistics also on a continuous basis at the national level starting from the smallest administrative unit. In fact, obtaining detailed vital statistics on regular basis is one of the major functions of the Civil Registration System (CRS) in several countries of the world. Vital Statistics records obtained under CRS have got administrative uses in designing and implementing public health programmes and carrying out social, demographic and historical research. For an individual, the birth registration records provide legal proof of identity and civil status, age, nationality, dependency status etc., on which depend a wide variety of rights. 1.5 The office of the Registrar General of India was created in 1951 and the vital statistics department was transferred to this office from the Director of Health Services in 1960. On deliberations and recommendations of various committees, the Registration of Births and Deaths Act (1969) was enacted by Parliament to enforce uniform civil registration throughout the country. National Sample Survey 1.6 Data on fertility and mortality derivable from the census are not very reliable and they are also available only once in ten years. In the absence of reliable data from the civil registration system (CRS), the need for reliable vital statistics at national and state levels is being met through sample surveys launched from time to time. At the instance of the then Prime Minister, Shri Jawaharlal Nehru, a large scale sample survey agency known as National Sample Survey (NSS) came into existence in 1950 on the recommendations of the National Income Committee chaired by Late Professor P. C. Mahalanobis. In the 1950’s and 1960’s the National Sample Survey attempted to provide reliable estimates of birth and death rates through its regular rounds. However, the release of 1961 census data indicated that the birth rates and death rates and a consequently the growth rates were often not estimated correctly. Many analysts at that point of time felt that the onetime retrospective recall surveys such as National Sample survey may not be able to estimate the vital rates correctly. Sample Registration System (SRS) 1.7 Taking into account the view that NSS could not provide the estimates of vital rates correctly, a search for alternative procedures to estimate vital rates was attempted. The sample registration system (SRS) was one such attempt. The Government of India, in the late 1960s, initiated the Sample Registration System that is based on a Dual 2 Recording System. In the Sample Registration System, there is a continuous enumeration of births and deaths in a sample of villages/urban blocks by a resident part-time enumerator and then, an independent six monthly retrospective survey by a full time supervisor. The data obtained through these two sources are matched. The unmatched and partially matched events are re-verified in the field to obtain the correct number of events. . At present, the Sample Registration System (SRS) provides reliable annual data on fertility and mortality at the state and national levels, for the rural and urban areas separately. In this survey, the sample units, villages in rural areas and urban blocks in urban areas, are replaced once in ten years. Health surveys 1.8 In the last decade, a few important sources for demographic data have emerged. These are the National Family Health Surveys (NFHS), and the District Level Household Surveys (DLHS) conducted for the evaluation of reproductive and child Health programmes. Three rounds of NFHS surveys have been completed. These provide inter-alia estimates of fertility, child mortality and a number of health parameters relating to infants and children at the state level. They also provide information on the availability of health and family planning services to pregnant and other women in reproductive ages. The DLHS provides information, at the district level, on a number of indicators relating to child health, reproductive health problems and the quality of services available to the target groups. Three rounds of surveys have been conducted so far. In each round surveys have been conducted in two phases spread over two years. In the first two rounds of surveys, in each phase of the survey, half of the districts in a state have been covered. The third round of the survey has also been completed in the form of District Level Household and Facility Survey (DLHS-3), which is one of the largest ever demographic and health surveys carried out in India, with a sample size of about seven lakh households covering all the districts of the country. As in the cases of DLHS-1 and DLHS-2, in the case of DLHS-3 as well, the International Institute for Population Sciences (IIPS), Mumbai was the nodal agency to conduct the survey. Like the other two earlier rounds of DLHS Surveys, DLHS-3 was also designed to provide estimates on important indicators on maternal and child health, family planning and other reproductive health services. In addition, DLHS-3 provides information on important interventions of the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM). Unlike the previous two rounds in which only currently married women (age 15-44 years), DLHS-3 interviewed ever-married women (age 15-49 years) and never married women (age 15-24 years). DLHS-3 adopted a multi-stage stratified sampling design and sampled households representing a district vary from 1000 to 1500. DLHS-3 provides the latest statistics for examining the performance of the programme implementation in the health sector. The 3 information available from this survey on health and family welfare indicators will help the programme managers at the district level to monitor the implementation and to take necessary corrective measures, if, whenever and wherever called for. Uniform bi-lingual questionnaires, both in English and the local language, were used in DLHS-3 viz. Household, Ever Married Women (age 15-49 years), un-married women (age 15-24 years), Village and Health Facility Questionnaires. The DLHS-3 is a first population linked facility survey conducted in India. 1.9 The chapters that follow discuss in detail the data emerging from the above sources, their strengths, limitations, the organizational details and the data collected. 4 II - POPULATION CENSUS Definition of a population census 2.1 Oxford dictionary defines census as ‘an official count or survey of population’. The Webster’s dictionary defines it as an official enumeration of the population, with details such as age, sex occupation etc. The United Nations Document-‘Principles and Recommendations for National Population Censuses’ defines the census of population as "the total process of collecting, compiling and publishing demographic, economic and social data pertaining, at a specified time or times, to all persons in a country or delimited territory."1 The word official does not occur in UN definition. However, the UN manual discusses later on the legal basis for census, which implies that census has to be conducted by an official agency. Essential features of a population census Individual Enumeration 2.2 A ‘census’ implies that each individual is enumerated separately and that the characteristics of each person in the total population, or in a representative sample of the total population, are separately recorded. Only by this procedure can the data on various characteristics be cross classified. Individual enumeration does not preclude the use of sampling techniques for obtaining data on specified characteristics, provided that the sample design is consistent with the size of areas for which the data are to be tabulated and the degree of details in the cross tabulation to be made. Universality within a defined territory 2.3 The population figures have no meaning unless they refer to a well defined territory. The territory covered, along with any changes in its area in successive censuses, should be clearly and explicitly stated. Each person present and/or residing within its scope, without omission or duplication, should be included in the census to ensure completeness and accuracy of census data. Simultaneity 1 United Nations ,Principles and Recommendations for the 1970 Population Censuses, Statistical papers, Series M,No.44, 1967,pp 3-4 5 2.4 The total population enumerated should refer to one well defined point of time and the data collected should also refer to a well defined point or period of time. This is essential to an accurate count of the total population and relationship of facts about the population to a specified period of time. As a general rule, a day is fixed for the census and also a particular moment which is called the "census moment". In India, the "Census moment" is usually the sunrise of 1st March, of the census year. However, in the 1971 census, it was the sunrise of 1st April. In 2001 census1 “ Census moment “ was 00.00 hours of 1st March 2001. The fixing of the "census moment" helps the enumerators to decide which persons are to be included in the census. The persons born after the census moment or the persons dying before the census moment are to be excluded from the census. Some of the characteristics of the population like age, marital status, occupation, literacy and birthplace etc., are referred to a period of time usually from 10th February to 28th February of the census year to ensure simultaneity. 2.5 Because of the adverse climatic conditions or unforeseen contingencies, the population census is sometimes carried out non synchronously. For example, in 2001 census, in Jammu and Kashmir and certain snow bound areas of Himachal Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh ,the Population enumeration was carried out during 11th to 30th September,2000, with a revision round from 1st to 5th October 2000. Due to devastating earth quake in Gujarat on 26th January, the 2001 census enumeration was suspended in the entire district of Kachch,Morvi, Maliya- Miana and Wankaner talukas of Rajkot district and Jodiya taluka of Jamnagar district. 2.6 Again, due to disturbed conditions,census could not be conducted in the States of Assam in 1981 and in Jammu and Kashmir in 1991. 2.7 The first attempted census in India during 1871-72 was non- synchronous. The original intention was to take a simultaneous count on all the parts of India on 15-11-1871.In practice ,it was taken on different dates in various provinces and in Bengal province, it was taken on two different dates . The census was not conducted in the then provinces of Punjab, Hyderabad and Oudh. Of the princely states, Census was held only in Mysore. The reference dates for various counts are given below: North –Western provinces 18-1-1872 Bombay 21-2-1872 Central Provinces 25-1-1872 British Burma 14-11-1871 6 Mysore and Coorg 14-11-1871 Madras 15-11-1871 2.8 In the case of Madras, in Tanjore district and Palaghat town, the census was postponed by a week due to local festivals. In Bengal, the dates varied from district to district. 2.9 The 1881 census was not taken in Kashmir. In the princely states, except Haryana, Baroda and Mysore, information on sex wise number of population was obtained. But data on age, civil conditions, caste and occupation was not obtained. 2.10 In 1961 census, the North East Frontier province was covered but a simplified schedule was used. Defined Periodicity 2.11 Censuses should be taken at regular intervals so that comparable information is made available in a fixed sequence. A series of censuses makes it possible to appraise the past, accurately describe the present and estimate the future. 2.12 Starting from 1891, in India, Population Census has been taken every ten years, usually with 1st March as reference point of time. The one exception was 1971 census which was taken with 1st April 1971 as reference point. Also in a few pockets, where census is conducted non- synchronously, the dates of enumeration are not exactly ten years. Individual Units: 2.13 Census data must be collected separately for each individual so that detailed classifications may be provided in all the required combinations. A procedure of "group enumeration" is not a census in the strict sense of the term because the recording of aggregated or summarized information on the characteristics of a group of persons usually precludes the cross-tabulation of data on several characteristics. Even though a well-designed "group enumeration" can produce cross- classifications of certain individual characteristics, such as sex and age, the possibilities in this respect are so limited that the procedure is not recommended for general use, particularly since it tends to result in under- enumeration of the population. 2.14 Individual enumeration does not preclude the use of sampling techniques for obtaining data on specified characteristics, provided that the sample design is consistent with the size of the areas for which the 7

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Health surveys. 1.8 In the last decade, a few important sources for demographic data have emerged. These are the National Family Health Surveys .. Kautilya's 'Arthashastra” written during third century B.C. mentions about enterprise or milching etc., Dependent such as infants or very elderly.
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