Census, Delimitation Exercise after 2024 Election

What’s in today’s article?

• What’s in today’s article?
• Why in news?
• What is Census in India?
• What is Delimitation?
•  What is Delimitation Commission?

Why in news?

• The Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam – The Constitution (One Hundred and Twenty-Eighth Amendment) Bill, 2023 – was passed by Lok Sabha.
  • The bill provides for 33% reservation for women in Lok Sabha and State Assemblies.
• While speaking during the debate on this bill in Lok Sabha, Home Minister Shah asserted that census and delimitation will begin soon after the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.

What is Census in India?

• About
  • Population Census provides basic statistics on state of human resources, demography, culture and economic structure at local, regional and national level.
  • Beginning in the year 1872, when the first census was conducted non-synchronously, the census enumeration exercise in India is carried out in every 10 years.
    • The first synchronous census was taken under British rule in 1881, by W.C. Plowden, Census Commissioner of India.
  • The responsibility of conducting the decadal census rests with the Office of the Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India, Ministry of Home Affairs.
• Legal/Constitutional basis of Census in India
  • Population census is listed in Union List (entry 69) of Seventh Schedule in Indian Constitution.
  • Census is conducted under the provisions of the Census Act, 1948.
• Process of census enumeration
  • The Census Operations in India have been carried out in two phases:
    • House-listing and Housing Census and
    • Population Enumeration.
  • The Population Enumeration follows the Housing Census within a gap of six to eight months.
  • In Population Enumeration phase each person is enumerated and her/his individual particulars like Age, Marital status, Religion, mother tongue etc.

What is Delimitation?

• About
  • According to the Election Commission, the word ‘delimitation’ is defined as “the act or process of fixing limits/boundaries of territorial constituencies in a country or a province having a legislative body”.
  • In the Indian context, the exercise of redrawing the boundaries of Lok Sabha and Legislative Assembly Constituencies in a region is known as delimitation.
  • In this process, the number of seats allocated to a particular state/UT in Lok Sabha or in the Legislative Assembly may vary.
• Need
  • Delimitation helps in redrawing the boundaries (based on the data of the last Census) in such a way that the population of all the constituencies, as far as practicable, remain equal throughout the State/UT.
  • It ensures a fair division of geographical areas so that all political parties or candidates contesting elections have a level playing field in terms of a number of voters.
• Constitutional Provisions regarding delimitation in India
  • Article 82 and Article 170 of the Constitution empowers the Parliament to readjust the allocation of seats in the Lok Sabha and the Legislative Assemblies of States respectively, after every census.
  • Accordingly, the Parliament enacts a Delimitation Commission Act and an independent high-powered panel known as the Delimitation Commission is constituted to carry out the exercise of delimitation.
  • The Parliament has enacted the Delimitation Commission Acts in 1952, 1962, 1972 and 2002 for this purpose.
• While the Census has been carried out seven times since Independence, delimitation has happened only four times.
• There was no Delimitation Commission Act after the 1981 and 1991 census.
• The present delimitation of constituencies has been done on the basis of 2001 census data under the provisions of Delimitation Commission Act, 2002.
• The next Delimitation Commission will be set up after 2026.
• Further, Article 330 and Article 332 of the Constitution provide for re-fixing the number of seats reserved for SCs and STs in the Lok Sabha and the Legislative Assemblies of the states, on the basis of the 2001 census.
• Last delimitation exercise
  • The last delimitation exercise, in 2002, only involved itself with redrawing the boundaries of constituencies.
  • It did not result in the increase in the number of constituencies.
    • This means that the number of Lok Sabha constituencies has not changed since 1976.
• Controversy around delimitation
  • The Constitution mandates that states receive seats based on a population ratio.
  • This unintentionally implied that states (mostly in North India) with lower population control efforts may claim a larger share of Lok Sabha seats.
    • And the southern states that promoted family planning faced the possibility of having their seats reduced.
  • The impact of delimitation on inter-state seat distribution is a strong reason for political tussles and controversies.
  • That is why the strength of Lok Sabha has remained frozen at 543 since the 1970s.
    • In 1976, the then government brought the 42nd Amendment and suspended the redrawing of seat boundaries and seat allocation until 2001.
    • This suspension was further extended till 2026 by enacting 84^th Amendment Act in 2002.
    • The year 2026 was chosen because, according to the National Population Policy, by 2026, there should be a roughly equal number of births and deaths in India.

What is Delimitation Commission?

• The Delimitation Commission is a high-powered committee entrusted with the task of drawing and redrawing of boundaries of different constituencies for state assembly and Lok Sabha election.
• It is appointed by the President and works in collaboration with the Election Commission.
• The Commission consists of –
  • A retired or working Supreme Court Judge (chairperson)
  • Election Commissioner
  • Concerned State Election Commissioners
• The Commission’s orders have the force of law and cannot be called in question before any court.
• The Commission’s orders are laid before the Lok Sabha and the legislative assemblies concerned, but they cannot effect any modifications in the orders.

Q1) What is the importance of census enumeration exercise?

Census is the basis for reviewing the country's progress in the past decade on socio-economic parameters, monitoring the ongoing schemes of the government and plan for the future.

Q2) Who appoints Delimitation Commission in India?

In India, the Delimitation Commission is appointed by the President of India. The Delimitation Commission is responsible for the delimitation or re-drawing of electoral boundaries for both parliamentary and state assembly constituencies. It determines the boundaries of these constituencies based on the principles of population and territorial distribution.

Source: Before women’s quota in Parliament and state Assemblies, the issue of delimitation: What is it, why is it needed | Census Division | Office of Registrar General and census Commissioner | The Hindu