In relation to the Census in India, what is the full form of NPR?

NPR stands for "National Population Register", a register of the "usual residents" of India.

About the NPR:

• It is prepared under the Citizenship Act, 1955, and the Citizenship (Registration of Citizens and Issue of National Identity Cards) Rules, 2003.
• It is prepared at the local (village or ward), sub-district, district, state and national levels.
• It is maintained by the Office of the Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India, under the Ministry of Home Affairs.
• A "usual resident" is a person who has lived in a local area for the past six months or more, or intends to live there for the next six months or more.
• It is compulsory for every usual resident of India, including foreigners, to register in the NPR.

It contains demographic details such as name, relationship to the head of household, father's and mother's names, spouse's name, sex, date and place of birth, nationality (as declared), present and permanent address, occupation and educational qualification.

History:

• The NPR was first prepared in 2010, along with the "Houselisting and Housing Census" phase of Census 2011.
• It was updated in 2015 through a door-to-door survey and linked with Aadhaar numbers.
• The next update was planned along with Census 2021, but the Census was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Differences:

The NPR is a register of residents (including non-citizens).

The "National Register of Citizens" (NRC) is a register of Indian citizens. An NRC has been updated only in Assam (final list published in August 2019, excluding about 19 lakh people).

"Aadhaar" is a 12-digit unique identity number issued by the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI, set up in 2009) to residents.

About the Census of India:

The first synchronous Census was held in 1881, under Lord Ripon. (The first, non-synchronous Census was in 1872, under Lord Mayo.)

The Census is conducted every ten years under the Census Act, 1948.

The 2011 Census was the 15th Census and the seventh after independence.

The next Census, the first digital Census, is being conducted in 2026-27, with the reference date of 1 March 2027 (1 October 2026 for snow-bound areas such as Ladakh and parts of Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand). It will also include caste enumeration, for the first time since 1931.

Why not the other options?

• ✗"National People's Record" is not a real term.
• ✗"National Population Ratio" is not a real term.
• ✗"National Public Registry" is not a real term.