Population Census

Meaning: The most important Source of demographic data is the census. The word "census" is derived from the Latin word censure which means "to assess“ or “tax‘’ or “value”.

Definition:The New international Webster’s Dictionary defines it as: "An official count of the people of a country or district including age, sex, employment, etc."

Types of Census:

De Facto Method 

De Jure Method 

Introduction 

De Facto Method 

Under this method, the Census Commission fixes one date for conducting the census throughout the country. 

– It is usually done on full moon night because it is presumed that all households are present at their residences during that time. 

– This technique was followed both in England and India up to the 1931 census. 

De Jure Method 

Under this method the enumeration period of two or three weeks is fixed. 

– The enumerator collects information from household by visiting them very often to fill up the various schedules. 

– Persons residing temporarily at a place are not enumerated. Only person residing permanently in a palace are counted in it. 

– This is also called real and direct enumeration method of census. 

Merits of  De Facto Method

1. It is not time consuming 

2. This is real enumeration because all the households are present in their residence. 

3. Even person present at other places within the country are enumerated. 

Merits of  De Jure Method

1. This is called real method because the enumerators are given sufficient time to collect information from the households by making frequent visits to them. 

2. It is possible to collect a wide variety of information relating to sex, age, language, education, occupation, etc.. 

3. Such diverse data are used by the Census Commission in arriving at various aspects of population growth such as birth rates, death rates, sex ratios, occupational distribution, literacy rate, etc. 

4. These data are further used by administrators for policy formulations regarding health and family planning, poverty alleviation, etc 

Demerits of  De Facto Method

1. Person who are travelling during the night in trains, buses, etc cannot be enumerated 

2. Requires large number of enumerators 

3. Nobody likes to disturbed at night. 

Demerits of De Jure Method

1. Persons who are not residing permanently at a place at the time of enumeration are usually left out. 

2. The same problem arises when a person has two houses at two different towns and resides in them for the purpose of business. 

Civil registration system and Sample Survey

Meaning:- The civil registration system also known as vital registration system. Which is another important source of population data. It is tool for studying the population changes. It requires systematic registration and compilation. This is being done successfully most of the development countries of the world. 

Methods of civil registration:- 

1. Vital events ; A persons entry into the world and his departure are considered as vital registration. During the span of time from birth to death a change may take place in an individual civil conditions. That is he/she get marry or divorced may be adopted etc… such events involving changes in the civil status of a person and also considered as vital events 

2. Vital Records:- Vital records may be defined as those concerned with vital events such as birth, deaths, still births, marriages, divorces etc. The occurrence of all the vital events is reported. by the person concerns to the appropriated authorities is called vital record. 

3. Vital Statistics; In a society births, deaths, marriages etc.. Occurred continuously, the register events are compiled in the form of statistics. These statics are known as vital statics. 

Problems of civil registration 

1. Problems of under reporting 

2. Rural population 

3. India is a vast country 

4. No legal punishments 

5. Mass illiteracy 

6. Lack of recognition 

7. Less importance 

Uses of civil registration system 

1. Certificates 

2. It is a legal document 

3. It is a proof to claim benefits 

4. Identity, nationality, citizenship, etc 

5. Proof of age 

6. Relationship between individuals 

7. Marriage certificate to claim property inheritance 

8. National data and trends 

9. Useful for research 

10. Useful for popular projection 

Sample Survey

Meaning:- In a sample survey information is collected on the basis of sample representative of the whole population. The NSS came into existence in 1950, the main objective of this to the collect comprehensive information about socio -economic, agricultural static and whole of the country. The qualitative data obtain through survey is better than census. In India the NSS is permanent organization regularly conduct surveys on various issue.

Uses of Census

1. Census provides basic data

2. Useful for administrates.

3. Provides information on changing characteristics of population.

4. Provides information on trends of population.

5. Information on occupation, literacy, educational level standard etc..

6. Useful for conducting sample survey.

7. Useful for countries where inadequate in information on population.

8. Helps in construing life tables.

9. Useful for National planning.

10. For population projection.

11. For future military and to provide basic services.

12. Useful to demarking the constituencies.

Stages of census methods/How a national census is taken

1. Determination of contents; what type of information are to be collected, eg: geographical, personal, economic, educational etc..

2. Development of the schedule; means construction of questionnaire, question should be pre-tested, the language should be simple and understandable, no jargons should be used

3. Division of work; the whole country should be divided into regions and sub regions. People are appointed in different fields

4. House listing; house list is necessary each house is counted in numbered in household survey the following items are observed.

a) The house list.

b) The house hold schedule.

c) The individual statement.

5. Pre-testing of questionnaire: the questions including are not put on selected persons at random. The questions do not carry different meaning. There are two types of questions.

 closed questions

 open-ended questions

6. Training : each persons in census hierarchy has to be given, the staff well trained

7. Impartiality : The person should not have their own preferences and prejudices. They should be impartial in their duties and data collected is unbiased.

8. Enumeration :The enumerators are mainly school teachers, each person is enumerate at the place where they are found. There are two method of enumeration: (a) De Jure (b) De Facto

9. Tabulation: The data collected was carefully checked, edited and properly tabulated and coded.

10. Checking errors: The data are clearly checked and marked

11. Publications: Finally the date will be published and made available for public.A

Salient features/ Nature of census

1. A census is usually conducted after an interval of 10 years.

2. The census covers the entire country or part of it.

3. The census operation are completed within specific period

4. It is conducted by the government through the census commission of the country.

5. Census is a National stock taking process

6. Preliminary steps.

7. Personal data to be collected

8. It provides 1st hand information

9. Clarity of information

10. Verification of data

11. Publishing Data

12. It is legal document and every country is legally bound to undertake a census.

Land Reforms

The defects existing with Indian agrarian structure pointed out by Planning Commission, highlighted the need for land reforms. The existing system during the beginning of Planned Growth, allowed the landlord and intermediaries to grow richer and they continued to flourish at the cost of the actual tillers. The cultivator tenants had to live a very tough life. Tenant got little incentive to increase his output since a large share went to the landowner. Very small margin was left for the actual cultivator and this amount was quite insufficient to provide for a capital investment on the land. The landlords grew richer, the intermediaries continued to flourish, the state was deprived of its share of legitimate increase in revenue and the cultivator tenants were in hand to mouth existence.

In order to remove the defects with existing agrarian structure, there was need of institutional changes in holdings. A high powered committee in 1948 with J. L. Nehru as its Chairman recommended that “all intermediaries between the tiller and the state should be eliminated and all middlemen should be replaced by non-profit making agencies like cooperatives. The maximum size of holdings should be fixed and the surplus land should be acquired and placed at the disposal of the village cooperatives. Small holdings should be consolidated and steps should be taken to prevent further fragmentation".

Objectives of Land Reforms:

1. Economic efficiency: The agrarian reforms should help in removing all obstacles to achieve high agricultural productivity. They should help in creating conditions for evolving as speedy as possible, an agricultural economy with high level of efficiency.

2. Social justice: The agrarian reforms should help to eliminate all elements of exploitation and ensure social justice within the agrarian system to provide security for the tiller of the soil and assure equality of status and opportunity to all the sections of the rural population. In order to achieve these objectives, the following policy measures were envisaged: 

a) Abolition of the prevalent intermediary system between the state and the actual tillers;

b) Tenancy reforms such as conferment of ownership rights on the cultivating tenants in the land held under their possession;

c) Imposition of a ceiling on agricultural land holdings as a measure contributing to the modernization of agriculture and to eliminate parasitic absentee landlordism;

d) Rationalization of the record of rights in land so as to make the rights of tenants, share croppers and other categories of insecure landlords;

e) Consolidation of holdings with a view to making easier the application of modern techniques of agriculture;

f) Development of co-operative farming and co- operative village management.

Mahalwari System and Ryotwari System

1. Mahalwari System: (Introduced by Lord William Bentinck.)

Under this system, land is held (owned) jointly by a collective body of village. This body collects land revenues from the owners or cultivator peasants and is responsible to the government. This system is found in some parts of U.P., Punjab and Haryana. This system facilitates cooperative farming to get maximum yield from land. The small holdings of peasant cultivators can be combined for this purpose. The main drawback with this system is that it encourages absentee landlordism.

2. Ryotwari System: (Introduced by Sir Thomas Munro in 1872)

Under this system, every registered holder is recognized as its owner. The owner cultivator or peasant proprietor is responsible directly to the government for the payment of land revenues and other dues. There is no intermediary between the government and the cultivator. This is perhaps the best system of land tenure. The peasant proprietor does not fear ejection by the government so long as he pays the land revenue. He can make permanent investments in his land as he is sure to reap its benefits. Thus, this system can ensure an increase in agricultural productivity.

Merits 

1. Cultivator enjoys the ownership of his land and work hard to increase the production.

2. No middle man – no scope for exploitation.

3. Encourage the government to invest money on land improvement. 

Demerits

1. Holdings are small – becomes unprofitable.

2. Cannot make permanent improvement in the land because of small profit.

3. Periodic revision of land revenue – unsettling effects on the peasant.