Context: The Centre will allow residents to fill the National Population Register (NPR) form on their own, through the online mode, a month before the door-to-door enumeration by Census officials starts.

Background:

• The first phase of the decennial Census exercise — the Houselisting and Housing Census — along with updating the NPR was scheduled to be held from April 1, 2020.
• It was postponed indefinitely due to the COVID-19 pandemic and is unlikely to be held this year.
• The second and main phase of Census — the population enumeration — was to be concluded by March 5 this year.
• Earlier, residents were to be given an option to self enumerate only in the second phase.
• As per an annual report of the Union Ministry of Home Affairs, the option will now be made available for updating the NPR also.

National Population Register (NPR):

• NPR is a register of usual residents of the country.
• It is mandatory for every usual resident of India to register in the NPR.
• It includes both Indian citizens as well as a foreign citizen.
• The first National Population Register was prepared in 2010 and updating this data was done during 2015 by conducting a door to door survey.
• The next update of the NPR will take place with the Houselisting phase of the Census 2021.
• It is being prepared at the local (Village/sub-Town), sub-District, District, State and National level under provisions of the Citizenship Act 1955 and the Citizenship (Registration of Citizens and issue of National Identity Cards) Rules, 2003.

https://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/centre-likely-to-allow-residents-to-fill-their-npr-details-online/article34070160.ece

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