Census: A prerequisite for economic development

Context

• India aspires to be a $10 trillion economy by 2035. To achieve this, conducting population Census, due in 2021 but postponed indefinitely because of Covid, is necessary. Such data is essential for planning at the village or block level to usher in economic and social development, ensure better governance, and increase the transparency of public schemes and programmes.

What is a census?

• It is nothing but a process of collecting, compiling, analysing, evaluating, publishing and disseminating statistical data regarding the population.
• It covers demographic, social and economic data and is provided as of a particular date.

 

What is the purpose?

• To collect the information for planning and formulation policies for Central and the State Governments.
• The census tells us who we are and where we are going as a nation.
• It helps the government decide how to distribute funds and assistance to states and localities.
• The census data is widely used by National and International Agencies, scholars, business people, industrialists, and many more.

Why conducting a Census has become a prerequisite for economic development?

• Lack of complete civil registration system: Since many states (and districts) lack a complete civil registration system with a full count of birth and death data, demographers face enormous challenges in providing population counts at the district level. In several instances, estimates tend to be far off the mark, especially for newly formed districts and states.
• Changing pattern of migration: migration data collected in the Census has great implications for economic activities and social harmony. As India progresses economically, the pattern of migration has been changing in unprecedented ways. The migration pattern in India in the present decade is very different from what the data in Census 2001 and 2011 suggest. Hence, in the absence of updated data, it is difficult to draw conclusions about migration in India.
• Other surveys does not provide comprehensive data: The Census counts everyone across regions, classes, creeds, religions, languages, castes, marital status, differently-abled populations, occupation patterns etc. Most national-level surveys such as NFHS and NSSO do not have representative data at the population subgroup level, unlike the former. The existence of numerous faiths and languages as well as the expansion or extinction of such communities will be known only via population Census.

 

In the absence of it how demographers collect data?

• Estimates using past census information: In the absence of updated data, demographers estimate the annual population count at the district level using past Census information for the intercensal or postcensal period. Say, to estimate the population of a district in India in the year 2015, they use the district-level population growth rate between the 2001 and 2011 Census.
• Such estimates are fair for maximum of 10 years: Such demographic exercises give reasonably fair estimates when the year of population estimation is within the range of a maximum of 10 years. Beyond this period, estimations can be erroneous, particularly at the district level due to dynamic patterns of population components, among them fertility, mortality and migration.
• Assumptions based model in faster demographic transition: Many districts of India are experiencing a faster demographic transition with varying fertility and mortality rates. So, using the growth rate of 2001-2011 for the period after 2021 becomes more of an assumption-based model than a model that reflects empirical reality. Covid-19 further makes the situation complex as it impacts the fertility and mortality situation in the country.

Demand for caste census in India

• India’s population has since increased three-fold to 1.21 billion in 2011.
• Experts believe the economic status of the dominant OBC castes have improved in the past 80 years and certain castes have not benefited as much.
• So, the new caste census is required to measure the economic and social well-being of all castes.

History and a Way ahead

• India has a long history of conducting Census without interruption from 1881 with the rare exception of Assam in 1981 and Jammu Kashmir in 1991 due to socio-political unrest and secessionist movements.
• Conducting it regular at the national and sub-national levels has been a matter of pride for India.
• It has to be continued until India achieves a fool-proof civil registration system and a dynamic National Population Register.

Conclusion

• Conducting the population Census is a mammoth task, of course. Full involvement of the government system is necessary to organise it. But the it is necessary since it forms the basis of all the plans and programmes that the government wants to implement. Postponing the it has immediate and long-term negative consequences for India. The government and other stakeholders should take urgent steps to conduct the Census as early as possible.

 

 

 

 

Cows and sheep contribute to climate change

Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates has invested in an Australian climate technology start-up that aims to curtail the methane emissions of cow burps. The start-up, Rumin8, has received funding worth $12 million from Breakthrough Energy Ventures, which Gates created in 2015. Rumin8 is developing a variety of dietary supplements to feed to cows in a bid to reduce the amount of methane they emit into the atmosphere. The supplement includes red seaweed, which is believed to drastically cut methane output in cows.

How do cows and other animals produce methane?

1. Ruminant species are hooved grazing or browsing herbivores that chew cud. Ruminants such as cows, sheep, goats, and buffaloes have a special type of digestive system that allows them to break down and digest food that non-ruminant species would be unable to digest.
2. Stomachs of ruminant animals have four compartments, one of which, the rumen, helps them to store partially digested food and let it ferment.
3. This partially digested and fermented food is regurgitated by the animals who chew through it again and finish the digestive process.
4. However, as grass and other vegetation ferments in the rumen, it generates methane, a potent greenhouse gas. Ruminant animals such as cows and sheep release this methane mainly through burping.

Why is methane such a big problem?

1. Methane is one of the main drivers of climate change, responsible for 30 percent of the warming since preindustrial times, second only to carbon dioxide.
2. Over a 20-year period, methane is 80 times more potent at warming than carbon dioxide, according to a report by the United Nations Environment Programme.
3. It’s also the primary contributor to the formation of ground-level ozone, a colourless and highly irritating gas that forms just above the Earth’s surface.
4. According to a 2022 report, exposure to ground-level ozone could be contributing to 1 million premature deaths every year.

How are researchers trying to mitigate methane emissions?

1. Rumin8 isn’t the first one to find a dietary solution to curb methane emissions from ruminant species.
2. Scientists have been working on it for quite some time now, as they are looking to make these animals more sustainable and less gassy.
3. A 2021 study, published in the journal PLUS ONE, found that adding seaweed to cow feed can reduce methane formation in their guts by more than 80 per cent.
4. Apart from this, researchers are also trying to find gene-modifying techniques to curtail methane emissions in these animals.
5. Last year, scientists in New Zealand announced they had started the world’s first genetic programme to address the challenge of climate change by breeding sheep that emit lower amounts of methane.

AISHE 2020-2021 released

The Ministry of Education, Government of India has released All India Survey on Higher Education (AISHE) 2020-2021. The Ministry has been conducting All India Survey on Higher Education (AISHE) since 2011, covering all higher educational institutions located in Indian Territory and imparting higher education in the country. The survey collects detailed information on different parameters such as student enrollment, teacher’s data, infrastructural information, financial information etc. For the first time, in AISHE 2020-21, HEIs have filled data using an entirely online data collection platform through the Web Data Capture Format (DCF) developed by the Department of Higher Education through the National Informatics Centre (NIC).

Key highlights of the survey

Student Enrollment

1. The total enrollment in higher education has increased to nearly 4.14 crore in 2020-21 from 3.85 crore in 2019-20.
2. The Female enrolment has increased to 2.01 crore from 1.88 crore in 2019-20.  The percentage of female enrolment to total enrolment has increased from 45% in 2014-15 to around 49% in 2020-21.
3. As per 2011 population projections for 18-23 years age group, GER has increased to 27.3 from 25.6 in 2019-20.
4. Notable increase of 1.9 points is observed in GER of ST students in 2020-21, as compared to 2019-20.
5. Female GER has overtaken Male GER since 2017-18. Gender Parity Index (GPI), the ratio of female GER to male GER, has increased from 1 in 2017-18 to 1.05 in 2020-21.
6. Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka and Rajasthan are the top 6 States in terms of number of students enrolled.
7. As per response in AISHE 2020-21, about 79.06% of the total students are enrolled in undergraduate level courses and 11.5% are enrolled in postgraduate level courses.
8. Among Disciplines at undergraduate level, enrollment is highest in Arts (33.5%), followed by Science (15.5%), Commerce (13.9%) and Engineering & Technology (11.9%).
9. Government Universities (59% of total) contribute towards 73.1% of the enrolment. Government Colleges (21.4% of total) contribute towards 34.5% of the enrolment.
10. The enrolment inInstitute of National Importance (INIs) has increased by nearly 61% during the period 2014-15 to 2020-21.
11. Enrolment has increased in 2020-21 compared to 2014-15 in the Specialized Universities relating toDefence, Sanskrit, Biotechnology, Forensics, Design, Sports etc.

Number of Institutions

1. The total number of Universities / University like institutions registered is 1,113, Colleges 43,796 and Standalone Institutions 11,296.
2. During 2020-21, the number of Universities has increased by 70, and the number of Colleges has increased by 1,453.
3. The Institutes of National Importance (INIs) have almost doubled from 75 in 2014-15 to 149 in 2020-21.
4. 191 new Higher Education Institutions have been established in North Eastern States since 2014-15.
5. Highest number of Universities is in Rajasthan (92), Uttar Pradesh (84) and Gujarat (83).
6. 17 Universities (of which 14 are State Public) and 4,375 Colleges are exclusively for women.

Faculty

1. The total number of faculty/teachers are 15,51,070 of which about 57.1% are male and 42.9% are female.
2. The female per 100 male faculty has improved to 75 in 2020-21 from 74 in 2019-20 and 63 in 2014-15.

OBC panel gets 14th extension

The Justice G. Rohini-led commission for the sub-categorisation of other backward classes (OBCs) has now been given yet another extension in its tenure by the President, according to a gazette notification issued by the Union Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment.

More about the extension

1. This is the 14th extension in tenure that the commission has been given. The commission, formed in October 2017, was initially given 12 weeks to finish the task of sub-categorising the nearly 3,000 castes within the OBC umbrella and recommend division of the 27% OBC quota among them equitably.
2. Initially, the government cited more time required by the panel to gather information and data and then it cited the pandemic.
3. As part of its work, the commission had identified dominant caste groups among all OBC communities in the Central list, finding that a small group of dominant OBC communities were crowding out a large number of communities from the 27% OBC quota.
4. Consequently, the commission decided to divide all OBC communities into four broad categories, with the largest share of the quota pie going to the group that has historically been deprived of OBC quota as a result of being pushed out by dominant OBC groups.
5. The fresh extension comes as the Bihar government is in the middle of its much-anticipated caste-based survey in the State and the Uttar Pradesh government is in the process of conducting a fresh survey to assess the need for OBC reservation in its local body elections, with other States like Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra also looking to form panels to implement OBC reservation in local body polls.
6. The last time a country-wide survey was conducted to enumerate the number of castes and their population was in 2011 as part of the Socio-Economic Caste Census. However, data from this was never made public.

India and South Africa Sign Cheetah Reintroduction Pact

• Recently, the Central Government confirmed that India and South Africa had signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on cooperation in Cheetah Reintroduction.
• A second group of 12 cheetahs, seven males and five females, will be brought from South Africa to Madhya Pradesh’s Kuno National Park next month.
• India had been waiting for the signing of this MoU in order to bring more big cats to supplement the first batch of eight cheetahs brought from Namibia last year.
• The South African cheetahs range in age from 18 months to 4 years.

Background

• On September 17, last year, eight cheetahs, five females and three males, were introduced into the Kuno National Park in Madhya Pradesh’s Sheopur district.
• The big spotted felines were extirpated from India due to their use in coursing, sport hunting, overhunting, and habitat loss. The government declared the cheetah extinct in the country in 1952.
• Beginning in the 1970s, the Indian government’s efforts to re-establish the species in its historical ranges in the country resulted in the signing of a pact with Namibia, which donated the first eight individuals to launch the Cheetah reintroduction programme on July 20, last year.

What is the Cheetah Reintroduction Action Plan?

• In 2022, the Ministry for Environment, Forests and Climate Change has launched the ‘Action Plan for Introduction of Cheetah in India’ under which 50 of these big cats will be introduced in the next five years.
• Around 8–12 cheetahs will be relocated from South Africa, Namibia, and Botswana by the ministry with assistance from the Wildlife Institute of India and the Wildlife Trust of India.
• Due to its ideal environment and sufficient prey base, Kuno Palpur National Park (Madhya Pradesh) would be home to the big cats.
• According to the terms of the agreement, an initial batch of 12 cheetahs will be flown in from South Africa to India in February 2023. The cats will join eight cheetahs introduced to India from Namibia in 2022.

Historical range of Cheetahs in India

• Historically, Asiatic Cheetahs were found throughout India, from as far north as Punjab to Tirunelveli district in southern Tamil Nadu, and from Gujarat and Rajasthan in the west to Bengal in the east.
• As a result, the Cheetah’s habitat was very diverse, including scrub forests, dry grasslands, savannas, and other arid and semi-arid open habitats.

What are the causes of Cheetah Extinction in India?

• The big cat population was wiped out in the early 1950s, primarily due to overhunting and habitat loss.
• Cheetah hunting (sport hunting, capture during the Mughal period) dates back to the 1550s.
• However, the final stage of its extinction coincided with British colonial rule (the British declared a bounty for killing it in 1871).
• All of the causes of extinction can be linked to human intervention. Their population has been drastically reduced by issues like human-wildlife conflict, habitat destruction, prey shortages, and illegal trafficking.
• These issues have only gotten worse as a result of the onset of climate change and expanding human populations.
• Because there is less territory available for wildlife, species that need a large home range, like the cheetah, are forced to compete with humans and other animals for limited resources.

Cheetah reintroduction to be done in a phased manner

• The reintroduction of the cheetah will be done in a phased manner, with:
  • the first phase focusing on the preparatory work, including the identification of suitable habitats and the training of personnel to manage the cheetah reintroduction program;
  • the second phase will involve the actual reintroduction of the cheetahs into the wild.
• The Indian government also plans to involve local communities in the cheetah reintroduction program to ensure their support and cooperation. This will be done through various awareness programs and capacity building activities for the local communities.

Reasons for reintroducing cheetah from Southern Africa

• The critically endangered Cheetah subspecies of India is found in Iran.
• Because the critically endangered Asiatic Cheetah cannot be obtained from Iran, India chose to obtain Cheetahs from Southern Africa.
• Southern African Cheetahs have the highest observed genetic variety among extant Cheetah lineages, which is essential for establishing a founding population stock.
• Furthermore, it has been determined that Southern African Cheetahs are the ancestors of all other Cheetah lineages, making them suitable for India’s reintroduction program.

A boost for conservation efforts

• The reintroduction of the cheetah in India is a boost for conservation efforts, not just for the cheetah but also for the ecosystems in which the animal will be reintroduced.
• The cheetah, as a top predator, plays an important role in maintaining the balance of the ecosystem by controlling the population of herbivores, which in turn helps to maintain the vegetation.

About Kuno National Park Kuno National Park is a national park and wildlife sanctuary in Madhya Pradesh, India. It takes its name from the Kuno River.It was established in 1981 as a wildlife sanctuary with an initial area of 344.686 km2 in the districts of Sheopur and Morena. It was designated a national park in 2018.For all wildlife aficionados and lovers, Madhya Pradesh’s Kuno National Park is one of the most special places to visit.Chital, sambar, nilgai, wild pig, chinkara, and cattle are all present in good numbers.

Conclusion

The reintroduction of the cheetah in India is a positive step towards the conservation of the critically endangered species and a boost for conservation efforts in general. The Indian government’s plan to involve local communities in the program will ensure their support and cooperation in the successful reintroduction of the cheetah in the wild. This is a great step towards the restoration of biodiversity in India.