“If the census of 2021 takes place properly, and if we’re able to make a proper digital format for it, then your Aadhaar card, electoral photo identity card, PAN card, passport can all become one card,” said Union Home Minister Amit Shah at the foundation stone laying ceremony for the new headquarters of Office of Registrar General of India and Census Commissioner. He emphasised that currently the government isn’t working on any policy to make a single multipurpose ID, but said that the digital census of 2021 will act as a base for such a possibility. He added, “By doing this, we can de-duplicate the electoral roll”. Digitised census data can be used for analysis: Shah announced that the census of 2021 will be done digitally. “We’ll use a mobile app for the 2021 census of India… People can upload their entire family details via a mobile app for the upcoming census,” the minister said. While census data on paper will remain, it’s digitised version can be used for lots of analysis, Shah said, before adding, “and only then can we use this data multi-dimensionally”. Shah also said that the transformation from a paper- based census to digital census will be completed after the 2021. UIDAI allows ‘voluntary’ use of Aadhaar for NPR: The UIDAI has allowed “voluntary” use of Aadhaar card for the compilation of a National Population Register (NPR), per a report in the Economic Times. It said that once Aadhaar details are included in the NPR, it…
