Census 2011 or the 15th National Census, a gigantic exercise to capture the socio-economic and cultural profile of India’s population, began on April 1, 2010. India undertakes this exercise every 10 years through the Office of the Registrar General and Census Commissioner in the Ministry of Home Affairs. The census documents details of a billion plus population on diverse subjects such as demography, literacy, fertility and mortality and provides primary data at village, town and ward level. The first census ever to take place in India was in 1872 and the last one was held in 2001. The Census of India Act, 1948 lays down the rules and regulations pertaining to conduct of a census. The Act makes it obligatory for the public to answer all the questions faithfully while guaranteeing the confidentiality of the information. The last census was held in 2001, which revealed that India’s population was about 1.03 billion. Statistical data related to literacy rate, sex-ratio, urban-rural distribution, religious composition, SC/ST population and so on were captured by Census 2001. Features of Census 2011 Census process: India uses the canvasser method for collecting census data. Under this method, the canvasser approaches every household and records the answer on the schedules himself after ascertaining the particulars from the head of the household or other knowledgeable persons in the household. The full detail of the methodology is available here. National Population Register (NPR): It would be a register or database of residents of the country. The government states that such a database would facilitate better targeting of the benefits and services under government schemes and programmes; improve planning and help strengthen the security of the country. The register is being created under the provisions of the Citizenship Act and Rules. NPR process: Basic details such as name, date of birth and sex shall be gathered by visiting each household of a resident of the country. A database shall be created with addition of biometric information such as photograph, 10 fingerprints and probably Iris information for all persons aged 15 years and above. The list shall be sent to the Unique Identity Authority of India (UIDAI) for de-duplication and issue of UID Numbers. The cleaned database along with the UID Number would form the National Population Register. There was a controversy over whether Census 2011 should capture caste data. Since India last collected caste data in 1931, proponents argued that up-to-date, reliable caste data was essential to target welfare schemes towards various backward castes. Opponents however contended that this would perpetuate the caste system. The government finally decided not to include caste as one of the parameters in the 2011 census. Table 1: Schedule of Census 2011
| Schedule | State/UT |
| April 1 | New Delhi (NDMC area), West Bengal, Assam, Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Goa, Meghalaya, Bihar, Jharkhand |
| April 7 | Kerala, Lakshadweep, Orissa, Himachal Pradesh, Sikkim |
| April 15 | Karnataka, Arunachal Pradesh, Chandigarh |
| April 21 | Gujarat, Dadra & Nagar Haveli, Daman & Diu |
| April 26 | Tripura, Andhra Pradesh |
| May 1 | Haryana, Chhattisgarh, Delhi, Punjab, Uttaranchal, Maharashtra |
| May 7 | Madhya Pradesh |
| May 15 | J & K, Manipur, Mizoram, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh |
| June 1 | Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, Nagaland |
Recently, the Standing Committee on Health and Family Welfare submitted its report to the Parliament on the National Commission for Human Resource for Health Bill, 2011. The objective of the Bill is to “ensure adequate availability of human resources in the health sector in all states”. It seeks to set up the National Commission for Human Resources for Health (NCHRH), National Board for Health Education (NBHE), and the National Evaluation and Assessment Council (NEAC) in order to determine and regulate standards of health education in the country. It separates regulation of the education sector from that of professions such as law, medicine and nursing, and establishes professional councils at the national and state levels to regulate the professions. See here for PRS Bill Summary. The Standing Committee recommended that this Bill be withdrawn and a revised Bill be introduced in Parliament after consulting stakeholders. It felt that concerns of the professional councils such as the Medical Council of India and the Dental Council of India were not adequately addressed. Also, it noted that the powers and functions of the NCHRH and the National Commission on Higher Education and Research (to be established under the Higher Education and Research Bill, 2011 to regulate the higher education sector in the country) were overlapping in many areas. Finally, it also expressed concern over the acute shortage of qualified health workers in the country as well as variations among states and rural and urban areas. As per the 2001 Census, the estimated density of all health workers (qualified and unqualified) is about 20% less than the World Health Organisation’s norm of 2.5 health workers per 1000 population. See here for PRS Standing Committee Summary. Shortfall of health workers in rural areas Public health care in rural areas is provided through a multi-tier network. At the lowest level, there are sub health-centres for every population of 5,000 in the plains and 3,000 in hilly areas. The next level consists of Primary Health Centres (PHCs) for every population of 30,000 in the plains and 20,000 in the hills. Generally, each PHC caters to a cluster of Gram Panchayats. PHCs are required to have one medical officer and 14 other staff, including one Auxiliary Nurse Midwife (ANM). There are Community Health Centres (CHCs) for every population of 1,20,000 in the plains and 80,000 in hilly areas. These sub health centres, PHCs and CHCs are linked to district hospitals. As on March 2011, there are 14,8124 sub health centres, 23,887 PHCs and 4809 CHCs in the country.[i] Sub-Health Centres and Primary Health Centres
Table 1: State-wise comparison of vacancy in PHCs
|
Doctors at PHCs |
ANM at PHCs and Sub-Centres |
|||||
| State | Sanctioned post | Vacancy | % of vacancy | Sanctioned post | Vacancy | % of vacancy |
| Chhattisgarh | 1482 | 1058 | 71 | 6394 | 964 | 15 |
| West Bengal | 1807 | 801 | 44 | 10,356 | NA | 0 |
| Maharashtra | 3618 | 1326 | 37 | 21,122 | 0 | 0 |
| Uttar Pradesh | 4509 | 1648 | 36 | 25,190 | 2726 | 11 |
| Mizoram | 57 | 20 | 35 | 388 | 0 | 0 |
| Madhya Pradesh | 1238 | 424 | 34 | 11,904 | 0 | 0 |
| Gujarat | 1123 | 345 | 31 | 7248 | 817 | 11 |
| Andaman & Nicobar Isld | 40 | 12 | 30 | 214 | 0 | 0 |
| Odisha | 725 | 200 | 28 | 7442 | 0 | 0 |
| Tamil Nadu | 2326 | 622 | 27 | 9910 | 136 | 1 |
| Himachal Pradesh | 582 | 131 | 22 | 2213 | 528 | 24 |
| Uttarakhand | 299 | 65 | 22 | 2077 | 0 | 0 |
| Manipur | 240 | 48 | 20 | 984 | 323 | 33 |
| Haryana | 651 | 121 | 19 | 5420 | 386 | 7 |
| Sikkim | 48 | 9 | 19 | 219 | 0 | 0 |
| Meghalaya | 127 | 23 | 18 | 667 | 0 | 0 |
| Delhi | 22 | 3 | 14 | 43 | 0 | 0 |
| Goa | 46 | 5 | 11 | 260 | 20 | 8 |
| Karnataka | 2310 | 221 | 10 | 11,180 | 0 | 0 |
| Kerala | 1204 | 82 | 7 | 4232 | 59 | 1 |
| Andhra Pradesh | 2424 | 76 | 3 | 24,523 | 2876 | 12 |
| Rajasthan | 1478 | 6 | 0.4 | 14,348 | 0 | 0 |
| Arunachal Pradesh | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | 0 |
| Assam | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | 0 |
| Bihar | 2078 | 0 | NA | NA | NA | 0 |
| Chandigarh | 0 | 0 | NA | 17 | 0 | 0 |
| Dadra & Nagar Haveli | 6 | 0 | NA | 40 | 0 | 0 |
| Daman & Diu | 3 | 0 | NA | 26 | 0 | 0 |
| Jammu & Kashmir | 750 | 0 | NA | 2282 | 0 | 0 |
| Jharkhand | 330 | 0 | NA | 4288 | 0 | 0 |
| Lakshadweep | 4 | 0 | NA | NA | NA | 0 |
| Nagaland | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | 0 |
| Puducherry | 37 | 0 | NA | 72 | 0 | 0 |
| Punjab | 487 | 0 | NA | 4044 | 0 | 0 |
| Tripura | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | 0 |
| India | 30,051 | 7,246 | 24 | 1,77,103 | 8,835 | 5 |
| Sources: National Rural Health Mission (available here), PRS.Note: The data for all states is as of March 2011 except for some states where data is as of 2010. For doctors, these states are Bihar, UP, Mizoram and Delhi. For ANMs, these states are Odisha and Uttar Pradesh. | ||||||
Community Health Centres
Table 2: Vacancies in CHCs of medical specialists
| Surgeons | Gynaecologists | Physicians | Paediatricians | |
| State |
% of vacancy |
|||
| Andaman & NicobarIsland | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 |
| Andhra Pradesh | 74 | 0 | 45 | 3 |
| Arunachal Pradesh | NA | NA | NA | NA |
| Assam | NA | NA | NA | NA |
| Bihar | 41 | 44 | 60 | 38 |
| Chandigarh | 50 | 40 | 50 | 100 |
| Chhattisgarh | 85 | 85 | 90 | 84 |
| Dadra & Nagar Haveli | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Daman & Diu | 0 | 100 | 0 | 100 |
| Delhi | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Goa | 20 | 20 | 67 | 66 |
| Gujarat | 77 | 73 | 0 | 91 |
| Haryana | 71 | 80 | 94 | 85 |
| Himachal Pradesh | NA | NA | NA | NA |
| Jammu & Kashmir | 34 | 34 | 53 | 63 |
| Jharkhand | 45 | 0 | 81 | 61 |
| Karnataka | 33 | NA | NA | NA |
| Kerala | NA | NA | NA | NA |
| Lakshadweep | 0 | 0 | 100 | 0 |
| Madhya Pradesh | 78 | 69 | 76 | 58 |
| Maharashtra | 21 | 0 | 34 | 0 |
| Manipur | 100 | 94 | 94 | 87 |
| Meghalaya | 50 | NA | 100 | 50 |
| Mizoram | NA | NA | NA | NA |
| Nagaland | NA | NA | NA | NA |
| Odisha | 44 | 45 | 62 | 41 |
| Puducherry | 0 | 0 | 100 | NA |
| Punjab | 16 | 36 | 40 | 48 |
| Rajasthan | 57% | 46 | 49 | 24 |
| Sikkim | NA | NA | NA | NA |
| Tamil Nadu | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Tripura | NA | NA | NA | NA |
| Uttar Pradesh | NA | NA | NA | NA |
| Uttarakhand | 69 | 63 | 74 | 40 |
| West Bengal | 0 | 57 | 0 | 78 |
| India | 56 | 47 | 59 | 49 |
| Sources: National Rural Health Mission (available here), PRS. | ||||
[i]. “Rural Healthcare System in India”, National Rural Health Mission (available here).
