Census 2021 Delayed Till Further Order Due To COVID-19 Pandemic; 4844 People Granted Indian Citizenship Since 2017: Govt

On another question regarding the details of total number of foreigners granted Indian Citizenship by the government since 2017, Rai informed that a total of 4,844 people have been granted Indian citizenship during last five years.

New Delhi: Due to the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Census 2021 and related field activities have been postponed till further orders, the Ministry of Home Affairs told Lok Sabha on Tuesday. In a written reply to an unstarred question regarding the number of census officer posts that have been filled since requisition orders were sent out, the Minister of State for Home Affairs, Nityanand Rai informed that a total of 372 posts have been filled in 2020 and 2021.

“Requisitions to fill 1736 posts have been sent to Staff Selection Commission and Union Public Service Commission,” he added.

Answering a question on whether the government plans to supplement the National Sample Survey Office (NSSO) and its surveys without the framework provided by the census, Rai said, “National Sample Survey (NSS) uses latest published Census data as the frame for its surveys in rural areas. But for urban areas, NSS uses a listing of urban blocks taken from Urban Frame Survey conducted by them.”

On a question of whether the government is considering conducting caste-based Census, Rai said, the Centre has not enumerated caste wise population other than SCs and STs in Census since independence.

On another question regarding the details of the total number of foreigners granted Indian Citizenship by the government since 2017, Rai informed that a total of 4,844 people have been granted Indian citizenship during the last five years.

As per the government’s data, a maximum of 1773 people were granted citizenship in 2021, followed by 987 in 2019, 817 in 2017, 639 in 2020, and 628 in 2018.

“The citizenship of India is governed under the provisions of the Citizenship Act, 1955. The citizenship to eligible foreigners is granted by registration under section 5, by naturalization under section 6, or by incorporation of territory under section 7 of the Citizenship Act, 1955. The reasons for taking Indian citizenship varies in terms of specific circumstances of each applicant subject to the provisions contained in the Citizenship Act, 1955 and rules made there under,” said Rai listing the reason why people were granted citizenship by the government.