The Indian Express   06.09.2012

Denied tablets, BMC extends caste-based census deadline

Short of tablet PCs, BMC has pushed the deadline for completing the city’s caste-based census by four months.The first Socio Economic and Caste Census started in mid-August
includes collecting data on tablets supplied by Bharat Heavy Electricals
Limited (BHEL).

Dr Arun Bamne, BMC’s executive health officer, said, “We have
extended the deadline. Shortage of tablets and data entry operators is
delaying the exercise.”

Only 2,600 of the 6,000 tablets needed for the census have been
received and, corporation officials said, many of these had technical
defects. “BHEL was to supply about 6,000 low-cost tablets, but it could
supply only 50 per cent at the beginning of the project. This has
slowed down the process,” said an official, adding that BHEL had also
failed to provide sufficient number of data entry operators.

So far, 1,365 of the total 27,000 population blocks have been surveyed. An estimated 1.24 crore people are to be surveyed.The method is, as enumerators ask questions data entry operators
make notes on PCs. They visit families in each block and add to the
basic information preloaded on the tablets from National Population
Register. Each family is first asked to verify the preloaded information
and later posed a number of additional questions.

Through the caste-based census, which is being conducted for the
first time since 1931, the government aims to determine which of India’s
250 million families will be eligible for a slew of anti-poverty
subsidies — housing and electricity — and schemes – old-age pensions and
health insurance. Most significantly, the census may become the basis
to decide which families receive low-cost foodgrains.

Last year, BMC had conducted
National Census 2011 covering over 27,500 house blocks. Apart from basic
information such as name and age, it had collected details such as
marital status, mother tongue, place of birth, work, education, caste
and migration. The caste-based census is being condcted by the central
government following pressure from OBC people’s representatives.