❖ The much-delayed decadal census exercise and the work to update the National Population Register (NPR) are likely to begin early 2025.

❖ The data will be declared by 2026.

❖ The country's population count has been conducted every 10 years since 1951.

❖ But the census work in 2021 could not be carried out due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

❖ With this, the census cycle is likely to be changed.

❖ So, it will be 2025-2035 and then 2035-2045 and so on in future.

❖ 31 questions are to be asked to the citizens during the census exercise.

❖ The census of India is recorded every decade, with the first one being held in 1872.

❖ The first census post-Independence was recorded in 1951 and the last one in 2011.

❖ According to the 2011 data, India's total population was 121 crore, sex ratio was 940 females per 1,000 males, literacy rate was 74.04%.

❖ The population growth was 17.64% from 2001 to 2011