Census Legislation:

For the success of an operation of such magnitude and importance as the Population Census, it is imperative that it should have the necessary backing of law. The Census Organisation should be armed with necessary authority to have access to households and canvass the prescribed questionnaires and to expect the people to answer truthfully. The law should also protect the interests of the people by guaranteeing the secrecy of the information collected. By now most countries have a permanent Census law requiring periodic censuses to be taken in accordance with a scheme to be notified from time to time. If in any country no such permanent law exists, suitable ad-hoc legislative approval should be obtained before launching on a census operation.

In India - a permanent legislation, viz., the Census of India Act was placed in the Statue Book in 1948. The Act empowers Central Government to notify the date for the census and to appoint a Census Commissioner and Superintendents of Census Operations in States. The Act enjoins upon every citizen to assist in the taking of census. The Act lays down that services of any citizen can be requisitioned for census work and takes obligatory on every person occupying a house, enclosure etc. to allow access to census officers, and to allow them to paint on or affix to the place such letters, marks or numbers as may be necessary for census purposes.

The law makes it obligatory on the part of every citizen to answer the census question truthfully. The Act provides penalties for giving false answer or not giving answers at all to the census questionnaire. At the same time, it calls upon the census officers to discharge their duties faithfully and warns them against putting any question to a person which is not covered by the questionnaire and they are required to record the answers as given by the person enumerated. One of the most important provisions of law is the guarantee it provides for the maintenance of secrecy of the information collected at the census of each individual. The Act requires strict secrecy to be maintained about the individual's record which should not be used for any purpose against the individual except for an offence in connection with the census itself. The census records are not open to inspection and also not admissible in evidence. The answers ascertained at the census can be used only for statistical purposes in which the individual data get submerged.

The success of census, however, depends not so much on the penal provisions in the Act but on the willing co-operation of all concerned. It is the responsibility of every census officer to create such atmosphere in which people may not give false replies to questions because of unnecessary for unfounded fears.

Universal coverage of Area:

In organising a Population Census the primary objective to be achieved is to ensure coverage of the entire area in a great territory, without ommission or overlapping. Therefore, a fundamental task in preparing for a census involves the location of every local area and building up of a suitable organisation to adequately cover it.

Household, the Operational Unit of enumeration:

Census aims at enumerating every individual. But the operational unit is the physical entity of the household which is generally understood as a group of persons commonly living together and partaking of food from the same kitchen. A household may occupy an entire house, or more than one household may share a house. In organising a census, one should locate every house and household. In order to achieve this a clear delimitation of territory has to be undertaken by which every single household is accounted for.

Determination of territorial units for organising census

One should decided fairly early on what should be the smallest unit of territory for which census statistical data are to be presented and also the highest stratum of jurisidiction for which the data will be consolidated and presented. For example, it has to be decided if the primary census data will be provided for every village or groups of villages, which are sometimes combined for the purpose of local administration, and at the higher level if the data are to be presented for development blocks, electoral constituencies, revenue and police administrative territories and at still higher levels for regions or districts and so on. In building up the census organisation and demarcating jurisdictions at the various levels of hierarchy it is necessary to make them correspond with the pattern of areas for which data will be ultimately presented. It is obviously advantageous to follow the accepted administrative units for this purpose. A country is generally divided into provinces, prefectures or states and sub-divided into districts and further sub-divided into sub-districts, sub-divisions, taluks etc. The smallest unit of administration will ultimately be a village or a town. These various administrative levels of jurisdictions are likely to have enduring boundaries unlike electoral constituencies which generally change with population size. The administrative units of territory are generally surveyed and mapped and the collection and presentation of census data for such units from census to census will also have the advantage of providing a time series of data for comparable units. Also the adoption of the administrative sub-divisions of territory for census purposes will help to press into service the hierarchy of normal administrative machinery for census work and the exercise of control from top to bottom is rendered easier which is so very essential in an intricate operation such as the Population Census.

Village and Town

The smallest unit of areas for which the census data is presented may be the village or town. Though this may sound simple, yet there is a need to clearly define what these units are. A village may not be mere cluster of houses with a local name. It may be made up of the chief area of habitation and the surrounding area falling within certain demarcated boundaries. Hamlets or scattered farm houses within such areas will have to be assigned to definite villages Then, what a town is, requires clear definition. Rural and Urban classification of population is an accepted demographic practice. But there has been varying criteria adopted for the recognition of units as urban at censuses of different countries. Recognising this the ECAFE Seminar on Planning for Urban and Regional Development held at Tokyo in October, 1966 also recommended that census authorities should try to evolve a simplified and standardised definition. Generally all places with local administration of its own such as a City Corporation, Muncipality etc., are automatically treated as urban. For others, a minimum limit of population size is recognised for qualifying a place as urban. It is 5,000 in some countries and in some others as little as 1,500 or 2,000. A minimum density of population is also laid down as a criterion to qualify a place as urban. It may be 1,000 per sq. Mile (or say 400 per sq. Km) as in India. This becomes sometimes difficult to determine. A third criterion applied is the preponderance of non-agricultural population to qualify a place for urban status. It is desirable to have some acceptable definition of urban units so that data may be comparable within the same country and also international comparison is rendered possible.

It is not unusual to find that adjoining the statutory limits of large urban centres, areas develop which, in all but their being outside the statutory territorial limits, seems to be integral parts of the city or town and enjoy almost all the amenities and services of the city. The census authorities will have to take due cognisance of such areas and even if the identity of the main town within its own statutory limits has to be recognised, the possibility of treating the adjoining urban growths to form an urban group alongwith the main urban centre will have to be examined.

Need for Maps:

When once the various levels of territorial units according to which the census is organised are determined, it is essential to secure detailed maps on which the boundaries of each of these units are clearly delineated. The maps should help to clearly demarcate the boundaries of the country as well as its division into provincial territories and further sub-division into districts and down to the smallest enumeration areas of villages and towns. The census organisation should make sure that these maps represent the latest position of the administrative jurisdiction and all changes ordered by State Government in respect of the clubbing of villages or determination of boundaries of municipalities etc., are properly accounted for. With the help of these maps the census officers responsible for enumeration of the territory should clearly know the dividing line between his jurisdiction and that of the one next to him. It is necessary to have maps of adequately large scale of 1" to 4 miles or 1" to 1 mile covering all areas.

Even if such maps do exist in some areas, they may not be up-to-date. It is not unusual for Governments to effect administrative changes of territory for various reasons. Sometimes villages may be clubbed to form a larger unit or a village may get split up and each part recognised as an independent unit; or the limits of a municipal town may get extended to cover a whole or part of an adjoining village; some border adjustment of districts or even provinces may take place. Often times, it takes considerable time for the Survey Organisations to carry out such changes in the maps. It will be one of the essential requirements of the census organisations that these maps should be brought up-to-date as on the census date. Cartographic units should function in each census office to take note of the latest changes of territory ordered by Provincial or National Governments and bring the maps up-to-date.

Territorial boundaries to be frozen in advance of census taking:

It will be obviously difficult even for the census organisation to keep track of the territorial changes, if they were to take place till the very date of census taking. It will be necessary to freeze the boundaries atleast a year in advance of the census date and the National and Local Governments should be requested not to effect any changes after that till the census is completed. On the maps being brought up-to-date by the cartographic units of the census offices it is desirable to send them to local officers incharge of the districts or its sub-division to certify to the correctness of all the local units that constitute the larger territory as indicated in the maps.

Unsurveyed Areas:

There may be countries or within the same country some parts which may not have been surveyed and no maps may exist. These will undoubtedly present a problem. Even so, there are bound to be some locally accepted dividing lines between one local area and another. It will be necessary for the census authorities to prepare a list of the areas and define the limits as locally accepted and even roughly mark them out on an outline map. The map should show all the localities even if they are only approximately demarcated. In some countries one is likely to come across tribal or aboriginal habitations spread in the thick of forest or hilly areas or remote regions and the limits of each such habitations might not have been surveyed and demarcated. In such areas, the jurisdictions of the local forest range offices or the forest beats are generally determined. Such jurisdictions can be recognised within which the tribal habitations can be listed and located on a map. These will help to see that during actual census enumeration no area is left out and all habitations are accounted for.

Location Code:

It is an advantage to evolve a location code by allotting code numbers to each district, each sub-district and each village or town. By the combination of the number of the village/town, sub-district and district it will be possible to have a code by which each smallest territory in the country can be located. These numbers can be marked on the territorial maps. Such a location code will be very convenient for allocating census enumerators to every unit without omission and it is also handy for the enumerator to indicate his area on the enumeration schedules and also useful in tabulation. This is a good aid to ensure complete coverage of territory.

Housenumbering and Houselisting:

While the listing of all territorial units of administration down to village level and the preparation of maps on which each unit of territory is demarcated help to ensure territorial coverage, one has to go a step further down to locate every household within the smallest administrative unit, for, after all the ultimate aim at a census is to ensure that the census enumerator visits every household and enumerates every person in it. For this, ideally, detailed village and town lay-out plans will have to be prepared showing important topographical details such as roads, streams, public buildings etc. And locate on it every house which should be indicated by a distinct numbe. It is doubtful if every village and town will have any such plan already prepared and maintained. Most areas may not have any house-numbering at all. The Census Organisation will have to take the initiative to have uptodate layout plans prepared and to see that the houses and households are numbered and listed.

In several countries a distinct housenumbering and houselisting operation is taken up as preliminary to census enumeration a few months in advance. The staff of the local authorities may be used for such operations or sometimes the census enumeration agency itself is made to take up this task. Notional maps of each village and town are prepared on which every house is located. If in a town a system of permanent house-numbering prevails, these numbers are adopted for locating each house on the map. This also gives an opportunity to bring the house-numbering up-to-date by allocation of appropriate numbers to new constructions, etc. In villages or towns where no permanent house numbers are maintained, a system of orderly numbering of the houses should be evolved with reference to the lay-out map prepared and the house number so allotted to each house should be marked on the sketch and simultaneously on the door of each house by chalk, paint, etc. It is necessary for census purposes that even the remotest and the poorest household should be located and, therefore, every hut, shack and shed which may not even have a proper door should be provided with a wooden plank, or tin plate with a number marked and the same may be hung in some portion of each such house. These will serve to identify every house and household which the census enumerator is required to cover for census enumeration.

Along with the house numbering, the houses and households are also listed. A definite form of houselist is prescribed for noting certain particulars of every house and household in it. The minimum particulars needed for a houselist are the number allotted to the house and household, a description of the house, the name of the head of household and the number of persons present in the household. While the main purpose of the houselist is to locate every house where there is a possibility of people living so that they could be later identified and covered at the census enumeration, this opportunity is sometimes taken to gether enough particulars as to serve the purpose of a housing census. Houselisting is extremely useful as it will help to give for each local area as preliminary estimate of the population that will be covered at the census shortly later. This will facilitate the formulation of census enumerator's block with reference to the size of population in such a way that each block can be conveniently covered by the census enumerator within the prescribed census enumeration period and it serves the ultimate purpose of helping the enumerator to locate every household in his block. Thus a complete coverage of every household by the census enumerator is also ensured. Besides, the house-numbering plans and the houselists also provide convenient frame for taking up any sample surveys.

In some areas, particularly where the "householder" method of enumeration is resorted to, the census collector/enumerator himself prepares a list of the households within the area allotted to him which will serve as a control sheet to enable him to distribute and collect back the census schedules from each household.

Building up the heirarchy of census officers:

The breaking up of the territory according to the administrative levels of jurisdictions and the development of a location code and demarcation of the areas on census maps and the preparation of detailed house-numbering plans and houselists provide the necessary frame work for creating the requisite field organisation and to build up a heirarchy of census officers for complete control, supervision and conduct of census operations.

Instead of the decennial census Phoenix having to be reborn every time, the need for a permanent and continuing census organisation, atleast a nucleus set up; during intercensal periods, is increasingly recognised by all countries. The Chief Census Commissioner who heads the census organisation in a country is responsible to the Central Government to conduct the National Census. He will have to work several details of the operations, evolve the questionnaires after duly consulting the various data users and had to issue executive instructions in respect of several details of the operations. Except in small countries, it is advantageous to have Regional Commissioners perhaps one for each province or state who will be directly responsible to the Chief Census Commissioner in ensuring that all the instructions issued by the latter are carried out in his respective area. He may have to be given considerable latitude in planning the operation in his region or province so as to suit the local conditions but within the frame work of the over-all operations in the country. In an operation such as the population census, when the services of a vast organisation requires to be harnessed throughout the length and breadth of a country for a limited period for the purpose of actual census taking, it becomes necessary to work through the machinery of the normal state and local administrations. Several countries have the convention of making the services of the officials of the provincial and local governments available for census work as part of their national duty. In Japan statutory orders lay down the responsibilities of Governors of Prefectures, Heads of villages and towns in the matter of conducting census. The census legislation, wherever, it exists generally makes it incumbent on the part of every one notified as a census officer under the Act to carry out his duties, deligently.

It is desirable to make statutory appointments of census officers at various territorial levels fairly early while preparing for a census so that a full-proof hierarchy of jurisdictions is built up and responsibility is clearly placed on the shoulders of each to look to all administrative arrangements in accordance with the general directions of the Chief Census Commissioner operating through the Regional or Provincial Commissioners. The Provincial Commissioner should closely keep a watch over the progress of work in all local areas of the province and given constant guidance. The census officer in charge of each district should divide his district into definite census charges. The rural areas and small towns of the sub-district can together form a charge under the sub-didstrict officer. Each large town can form a charge by itself with the chief executive officer being made the charge officer. Very large cities of say over a million population may require a different type of organisation with a chief census officer for the city as a whole and charge officers for individual wards of the city. Military units, cantonments, project townships, harbour areas etc., may have to form special charges. The charge officer should be made responsible for appointment of enumerators and supervisors to cover the entire population in his charge. He should see to the complete training of the enumerators and should consider success of census in his charge as his personal responsibility. As already indicated it is best that the Chief Administrative Officer of the area concerned is designated as the census officer at each level. Sometimes incentives may be provided by sanctioning a remuneration for carrying out the census duties that devolve on each charge officer as an extra burden during the census year.

Census Enumerators and Supervisors:

The census enumerators from the bulkwark of the census field organisation and the entire success of the census enumeration depends on the quality and capacity of the census enumerator and the interest he takes. He should be one who can command the confidence of the people and capable of interpreting the census questionnaires properly and evoke appropriate response. The largeness of the size of the population and the vastness of the areas of some of the countries of the region make it difficult to secure the services of adequate number of highly qualified enumerators. But the recent emphasis on the spread of education has enabled the establishment of a good number of elementary schools throughout the length and breadth of the country and, therefore, the school teachers generally prove to be the best agency to draw upon for appointment as census enumerators. In urban areas it may be necessary to draw on the services of a good number of central, provincial and local government officials. The charge officers should assess the total requirement of enumerators and supervisors and allow for an adequate reserve to serve as replacements or for any emergent duties and make an inventory of all personnel available for census duties well in advance of the formation of census blocks. Usually the work of 5 to 10 enumerators is controlled and supervised by census supervisors who should be selected from among persons with higher qualifications and as far as possible may be desirable to appoint them from among the permanent staff of the Government. The census enumerators and supervisors may be required to generally perform their duties outside their office hours. Countries who have necessary resources pay the enumerators attractive remuneration. In a few others the enumerators perform their duties purely on an honorary basis. Even in such cases it is desirable to pay an honorarium to enable them to meet their out of pocket expenses which they will have to incur when they are out to attend training classes or when they go out on enumeration work.

Printing of census schedules:

Early in the preparatory stages of the census, action would have been taken to evolve the census questionnaire after duly consulting the various departments of the government and the other census data users and to pretest them and finalise them. The pretests should have helped to fix the norms for coverage by each enumerator within the enumeration period. While other preparatory operations are going on, early steps should be taken to print the requisite number of schedules by carefully assessing the requirements of each province and each district on the basis of the projected population size. Allowance should also be made for an adequate reserve of 10-15 per cent. The house-numbering and house-listing operations would have helped to indicate more accurately the approximately population size of each local area. The printing of census schedules and instruction manuals would also require careful planning. The required paper and other stationery will have to be secured in time, the printing resources assessed and kept reserved, and the printing and binding of schedules into convenient sized books etc., will have to be carefully attended to. The census schedules should be despatched well in time to enable the District Census Officers to distribute them to the charge officers who in turn should see that the schedules and instruction manuals are issued to every enumerator on the eve of launching the enumeration.

While indenting for schedules it is a good idea to ask for a small proportion for training purposes. These should be distinguished from the main schedules. Practice enumeration schedules can be printed in different coloured ink and should be made available in advance of the main schedules for training purposes.

Translation into Regional Languages:

In certain countries there may be difficulty of different local languages being in use. It is important to assess the requirement of schedules and instruction manuals in regional languages, get the translations made, not in pedantic, high flown or technical language, but in a style that can be easily understood by the enumerators. Translated schedules and instructions will have to be got printed at centres which have the facilities to do it and see that they are despatched to the proper quarters. All this requires careful planning and organisation and attention should be given fairly early at the pre-enumeration stage.

Training: 

The importance of thorough training of census enumeration agency from top to bottom cannot be over-emphasised. Each one in the census hierarchy must be very clear on what his duties and responsibilities are. There should be no ambiguity in their understanding of census concepts. Manuals of instructions issued by the Chief Census Commissioner or the Regional Commissioners will be of great help. The printed manuals should invariably contain specimens of a few typical filled up schedules. Apart of the issue of printed instructions it is important that the Regional Commissioners who should get trained by the Chief Commissioner should impart intensive training to the district and sub-district census officers and the charge superintendents who in turn must thoroughly train up the census enumerators and supervisors. Each supervisor must ensure that every enumerator under him has understood the instructions thoroughly. Each should be required to attend a prescribed minimum of training classes. A good part of the training should be spent on demonstration and practice enumeration. Census Schedules printed in different coloured ink than the regular schedules can be used for training purposes. The mistakes committed during practice enumeration should be fully discussed after each practice enumeration. It is good, if possible, to hold tests to see that each enumerator has understood the instructions fully.

Publicity:

It requires two to take a census, viz., the enumerator and the enumerated. Greatest cooperation from both is necessary for the success of a census. Apart from the intensive training of the enumeration agency, wide publicity programme will have to be launched on the eve of census taking to educate the public on the need for the census, about the particulars that will be asked at the census, assuring the people that the confidentiality of the information will be maintained and also to tell them of their legal obligations. All media of publicity should be explored such as issue of attractive pamphlets and striking posters, radio and television programmes, by feature films and cinema slides, through a short lesson in schools, by announcing by beat of drum in villages and various other media according to the ingenuity of the local officers. Thus by the time the census enumeration is launched both the enumeration agency and the people should have been completely kept in a state of readiness to get through the enumeration within the next few days that mark the high key of the entire operation.

'Canvasser' and 'householder' methods:

'Canvasser' and the 'Householder' methods are the two recognised methods of census enumeration. Under the 'Canvasser' method the enumerator 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. Under the 'householder' method the enumerator distributes the census schedules to each household in his jurisdiction and the head of the household is expected to fill the answer for all members of his household and the enumerator later collects back the answered schedules soon after the census day is over. Without going into the merits or demerits of each of these methods, it has to be recognised that in countries where literacy is still low, the 'canvasser' method is the only practical method.

Census Reference Date:

The decennial censuses are generally taken in the years ending in '0' or '1' or as near to them as possible. The reference day for the census is fixed having due consideration to factors such as climate, maximum accessibility of areas, people being comparatively free from economic or other activities that may keep them away from home for long periods, and administrative convenience. The census moment is fixed as the midnight of the reference day or the sunrise. The sunrise appears better as several people may not know the exact point of midnight and may not be able to precisely say for example, that a birth occuring on the census nightr was before or after the midnight hour. Sunrise is a more easily distinguishable point of time.

Period of Enumeration:

The census count is expected to give particulars of the population at a fixed point of time. While under the 'householder' method the head of the household may find it possible to give particulars of the household as at that point of time, where the 'canvasser' method is used, it is obviously not possible for an unduly large army of enumerators to be deployed as to cover every individual at this fixed point of time. Therefore, the objective is achieved by the census enumerator making a double visit, the first in advance of the census date to record particulars of all individuals in the household and the second, a short visit, immediately after the census reference date to bring the record up-to-date by enumerating fresh births after his last visit to the household but upto the census reference point of time, and also visitors that had arrived later who were not likely to have been enumerated elsewhere and also cancelling out entries relating to deaths that had occurred during the period. As to what should be the length of the period in advance of the census reference date which should be utilised for enumeration depends on the resources and availability of manpower. The pre-tests would have indicated the period that will be taken for enumerating each individual. The approximate population of each area would also be available from the houselist. It will not be difficult to determine the actual period needed with the available manpower. It is generally a week or a fortnight and sometimes a little longer. It is, however, necessary not to drag the period too long as it is difficult to utilise the services of the part-time enumerators too long without letting their enthusiasm flag and also to exercise proper control. The re-visit generally lasts for three days.

Use of Sampling in enumeration:

Sampling may be used for the collection, tabulation and evaluation of census data. Sampling therefore, plays an important role in population censuses both as an integral part of plan execution, analysis and evaluation of census data and through the use of census as a sampling frame for subsequent sample enquiries.

Non-synchronous enumeration:

While synchronous enumeration has to be aimed at in the Population Census of a country, there may be some areas within a country where this may not be possible at all such as in the inaccessible hilly and forest areas inhabited by tribal population where suitable enumerators may not be locally available to carry out synchronous enumeration. Special enumerators from outside will have to be sent to cover such areas. This is bound to take longer time than enumeration in the plans. In such areas the enumeration can be conducted a month or two in advance of the actual reference day and sometimes even longer. Re-visits will be out of the question. In some countries a simpler census schedule is also developed for canvassing in such areas.

Snow covered areas:

There may also be the problems of large scale movement of population in certain areas such as say in certain snow covered areas where people may move out of their habitations when the area is covered by snow and return back after it clears. If the census reference day falls at the time when the people move out of their areas, such areas will show no population at all. Therefore, advance enumeration should be resorted to and the censused households issued with a certificate to show that they had already been enumerated so that they may not be enumerated again during the general enumeration elsewhere.

Enumeration of persons on boats etc.:

Enumeration of persons on the move in coastal shipping or inland waterway or on international sea travel who may arrive at a harbour on the census reference day may also present peculiar problems of their own. People living on boats form a considerable proportion of the population of certain areas. Special enumeration will have to be organised on the census day to cover such population. Coastal shipping found in any harbour during the enumeration period will have to be enumerated by special enumerators and the ship master issued with a certificate so that the ship may not be enumerated again at the next port of halt. Arrangements may have to be made to enumerate ocean going vessels that arrive at a harbour on the census reference day. Those arriving later need not be covered.

Persons on long travel:

Similarly arrangements will have to be made for the enumeration of persons on continuous travel by train or bus over long periods. All such cases may have to be covered by a single night enumeration on the census day.

Houseless population:

Houseless population too will have to be covered. In some areas particularly in some cities there may be considerable number of pavement dwellers. Arrangements will have to be made for covering them through a one night enumeration by appointing special enumerators for the purpose. During the general enumeration, the enumerators should try to locate the areas where there may be concentration of houseless population so that on the census night the charge officer may make arrangements for deputing adequate number of enumerators for single night enumeration. Social workers may also be pressed into service for this purpose. Adequate arrangements will also have to be made for protection and safety of the enumeration agency on such duty. Policemen accompanying the enumeration parties on single night enumeration sometimes had the effect of driving away the pavement dwellers to other areas thus missing from enumeration. Policemen should only be kept in reserve at convenient centres or may patrol the areas in vehicles in order to meet any emergency call.

De-facto and De-jure enumeration:

An important question pertaining to enumeration that always arises at a Population Census is whether the population should be counted on a de-facto basis i.e. at the place where a person is actually found on the reference date of the census or on a de-jure basis i.e., count a person only according to the place of normal residence. Of these, the enumeration on de-jure basis is more difficult to achieve without the risks of omission or double count. Enumeration of de-facto population though may appear simple will be difficult unless the movement of population is restricted on the census day and the entire enumeration is got through on a single night which is operationally difficult specifically when large population has to be covered by canvasser method. In practice, therefore, enumeration on a 100 per cent de-facto or de-jure basis is impossible and often times a variation or even a combination of the two is resorted to. The census instructions should clearly lay down who are the persons who should be enumerated during the census enumeration period.

Intensive supervision:

During the actual census enumeration, close supervision should be maintained over enumeration work, and channels of communication between different levels of census organisation should be carefully maintained to set right any breakdowns or meet any emergencies. Intensive supervision during the very early stages of enumeration is most important to rectify defects if any and to ensure that further enumeration rpogresses smoothly and correctly. Any complaint particularly when the canvasser method is used, of omission of areas or households or of the exercise of bias in enumeration should be promptly investigated. The supervisors, charge officers, etc., should closely watch to ensure that the enumeration in all the areas is progressing according to schedule and if any enumerator is prevented from attending to his duty due to unforeseen circumstances, the services of the trained reserve should be immediately drawn upon.

Enumerator's Summaries:

There is yet one ultimate state of the census enumeration which requires close attention viz., the compilation and submission of summaries by the enumerators. It is important that these should be very carefully compiled from the schedules, thoroughly verified and promptly relayed by the quickest means possible to the higher levels to be ultimately consolidated for each sub-district, district, province and the country. A careful and accurate preparation of these summaries is important as these will provide the first results of the census and will form the basic statistics of population till the final tabulation and publication of census data which might take considerable time. It is also desirable that the schedules filled by one enumerator should be exchanged with another for a thorough check for completeness of entries and for removing any internal inconsistencies, before the enumerator's summaries are prepared.

Collection of filled up census schedules:

Clear cut arrangements should be made, immediately after the census enumeration is over for the enumerator's summaries to be relayed, for the filled up census schedules of every enumerator to be properly handled, packed and despatched with a proper inventory to a pre-determined centre for further processing. It is desirable for each charge officer to collect the bundles from all the enumerators in his charge and send them on to a regional tabulation office as determined by the Provincial Census Commissioner. With this the great task of census enumeration will come to an end for except some post enumeration checks.

Incentives for good census work:

In an operation such as the population census which is taken up as a national task it is desirable to provide some aids and incentives to enable the census enumerators and officials at various levels to put forth their best efforts. Census enumerators on duty should be provided with dinstinctive census badge of authority. Apart from serving as an aid for the enumerator to take pride in his work, this is necessary to safeguard the interest of the public who should identify the enumerator. Some countries provide a momento such as a pen to each enumerator. A careful record of performance of enumerators and supervisors and all other census officials from beginning i.e., from training period till the end should be maintained and based on the interest he has shown and the quality of his census records, the overall performance can be adjudged and those that show high quality of performance can be rewarded by the institution of awards such as census medals and certificates. Such a scheme of rewards should be announced fairly early to enthuse census officlals to put forth their best efforts.

Census Calendar:

Census operations involve a net-work to intricate, interdependent steps which have to be carefully planned, and worked to a definite time schedule. A calendar of census operations is an indispensable aid in planning census enumeration. The details of the calendar may vary from country to country or from province to province within the same country. A detailed calendar for each region should be drawn up fairly early while planning for the census and the time schedule should be strictly adhered to ensure the success of the entire operation.

The processing of the census data occupies a very important place in the census. The census enumeration may be thorough and accurate but the census tabulation will not be accurate and useful unless the raw data are properly processed.

There are various methods of data processing and the choice of a suitable method depends upon the circumstances of the country. Many countries have found it attractive to the use of electronic data processing techniques although the cost of purchasing or hiring the equipment is quite high and there is enormous difficulty in finding the suitable trained personnel to work on the electronic equipments. The decision to use any data processing equipment should be based on the amount of data to be processed. If the electronic data processing equipment is not available within the country,the efforts should be made to procure such equipments from outside the country.

A complete census is a huge undertaking and will require many years to complete the whole tabulation programme of the census data. By the time the data is published, it becomes out of date and cannot be used for any policy matter. In view of this, it becomes necessary to base the tabulation of census data on sample basis to provide quick estimates to the census data users.

The census would be considered incomplete if the data tabulated in the desired form is not available to the data users in the form in which it suits them. This calls for high priority to be given to the publication of the census data. Sufficient funds should be allotted for the publication of the census data. The data must be presented by appropriate geographic and administrative divisions and by important demographic variables; evaluation of their accuracy and appraisals of their significance should be included in the census publications. The maps should also be given in the census publications so as to show each geographic unit for which the statistics are presented. It is not necessary for the Census Organisation to publish all the census data but it may be convenient to supply some of the unpublished data which is used only by the few offices and organisations.

The Census Organisation should make every effort to publish important results as early as possible so that their usefulness and the extent of their interest may not be diminished. It is very necessary to fix the target dates for publication well in advance so that there may not be any difficulty in achieving them. Along with publishing of the Census data, it would be proper that every country may provide a methodological and administrative report. The report should include specimens of the questionnaires, instructions to the enumerators, information on the cost of the census and planning and organisational aspects and the problems faced at various stages of census operation and the manner in which these have been tackled.