MAINS DAILY QUESTIONS & MODEL ANSWERS
Q1. Every village and town’s population, information for dividing up constituencies, and information about the extent of reservations are all provided by the Census. Examine.
GS II – Government Policies and Interventions
Introduction:
- The process of methodically gathering and documenting data about the individuals within a specific population is known as a census. Data from censuses can be used to determine a country’s population number, distribution, socioeconomic status, demographics, and other characteristics.
- Under British Viceroy Lord Mayo, the Census was first conducted in 1872. It aided in the formulation of new laws and government initiatives to advance community improvement sectors. In India, the first synchronised census was place in 1881. Every ten years: Ever since, there have been continuous censuses conducted once every ten years.
- The date of the decennial census will now take place in September 2023. The government notified the states that the administrative boundary freezing deadline has been extended to June 30.
The necessity of a census:
- The country’s population’s size, distribution, socioeconomic status, demographics, and other features are all disclosed by the census.
- The government, NGOs, researchers, commercial and private organisations, and others use the census data for administration, planning, policy making, and programme management and evaluation.
- Demarcating constituencies and allocating representation to the legislature, state legislative assemblies, and municipal authorities are further uses for census data.
- Census data is used by demographers and researchers to forecast and analyse population growth and trends.
- For businesses and sectors, the census data is crucial for planning and bolstering their operations in order to expand into previously untapped markets.
The Value of Censuses:
- The fundamental information needed for administration is provided by the population census. The delineation of constituency and the distribution of representation on governing bodies are two of the most fundamental administrative applications of census data. For this reason, comprehensive data on the population’s geographic distribution is essential. District-level population data, including demographic and economic details, is also provided by the Census.
- The population census yields vital information that is necessary for scientific evaluation and analysis of the population’s distribution, makeup, and projected future growth.
- For people and organisations in business and industry, the census data offers a wide range of significant applications. A comprehensive evaluation of the multitude of applications that trade and business employ the census data is a formidable challenge.
- The need for ongoing programmes of intercensal sample surveys to gather current and detailed information on many topics that are typically investigated at ten-year intervals in the population censuses has arisen from the rapidity of current changes in population size and other characteristics as well as the demand for additional detailed data on social and economic characteristics which are not appropriate for collection in a full-scale census.
Planning Benefits of Census Data:
- The nation’s social and economic planning depends heavily on the census data. The Planning Commission analyses the rise of consumer demand and savings during the development process by using Census data on the distribution of population by age, sex, and classification by rural and urban regions, cities, town areas, and social groupings.
The Population Census’s Use for Electoral Rolls:
- Some nations have used the enumeration process for a population census to simultaneously gather the data required for the creation of electoral rolls. Due to the potential harm the secondary goal could do to the accuracy of the census data, this approach is generally not advised.
- The population census’s utility in comparison to other census types
- A population census may yield information that is incidental to or more helpful for performing and utilising data from censuses of housing, agriculture, or establishments that were conducted concurrently with or shortly after the population census.
- Use of population census data for vital statistics and civil registration:
- Vital rates are computed using census data as denominators, particularly rates for traits that are often only examined during the census.
Difficulties and Experiences:
- The high expense of carrying out the exercise is one of the main obstacles to conducting censuses in developing nations. There is no denying that conducting a census is very expensive.
- A country’s high rate of illiteracy has an adverse effect on how its census is conducted.
- Performing censuses in countries where a significant section of the population lacks formal education presents significant challenges.
Certain Areas Lack Sufficient Infrastructure:
- There are some regions of the world where inadequate infrastructure, such as damaged or unusable roads connecting different cities and villages, makes it extremely difficult to conduct an effective population census.
- Religious and traditional beliefs may cause problems for the census process.
- When census takers travel to many impoverished regions of the world, where customs and beliefs are deeply ingrained, they encounter formidable obstacles.
Corruption Causes Problems for the Census:
- It may be challenging to conduct an effective population census that yields reliable population statistics if there is corruption during the process.
Not Enough Census Professionals:
- The lack of people with the necessary training and expertise to conduct censuses is another issue that certain regions of the world face while trying to conduct them.
- The degree of success attained by the census exercise ultimately depends on how good a pre-census education campaign is.
- It becomes extremely difficult for the authorities to know all the remote areas in the country, especially the very remote areas, and travel there to carry out the census exercise due to demographic maps that aren’t trustworthy.
- Since this is the first time that census data is being collected via mobile devices, the collectors should receive specialised training.
- The methodology must also be known to the general public.
- A strategy must be created to address the issue encountered in the previous stages.
- Since the census is a key component of development, the federal government, the states, and local governments must cooperate to make the data collection process run more smoothly.
Q2. Planning, carrying out, and assessing these interventions all require increased capacity in order to encourage people to lead healthier lifestyles and lessen the nation’s burden of non-communicable diseases. Analyze.
GS II – Health-related issues
Introduction:
- Chronic diseases, also referred to as non-communicable diseases (NCDs), are characterised by a protracted course and a confluence of behavioural, physiological, environmental, and genetic factors. The primary categories of noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) include cancer, diabetes, chronic respiratory conditions like asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and cardiovascular diseases like heart attacks and strokes.
NCD burden:
- An increase in mortality during the 30–70 year productive years
- decline in the demographic dividend
- NCDs have the potential to worsen than malnutrition.
- The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development includes a goal of reducing premature deaths from NCDs by one-third by 2030; however, NCDs pose a threat to this goal.
- NCDs and poverty are closely related. It is anticipated that the sharp increase in NCDs will obstruct efforts to reduce poverty in low-income nations, especially by driving up household health care expenses.
- Vulnerable and socially disadvantaged people get sicker and die sooner than people of higher social positions, especially because they are at greater risk of being exposed to harmful products, such as tobacco, or unhealthy dietary practices, and have limited access to health services.
- In low-resource settings, health-care costs for NCDs quickly drain household resources. The exorbitant costs of NCDs, including often lengthy and expensive treatment and loss of breadwinners, force millions of people into poverty annually and stifle development.
Measures to tackle Non Communicable diseases burden as well as Covid Pandemic:
- Increase health expenditure up to 8% of GDP.
- This will ensure a well-functioning of tertiary and secondary care in government hospitals.
- Also, there is a need for improving sanitation and hygiene, provisioning of equipment, toning up of laboratory facilities, and recruiting the additional staff to meet the workload.
- Provided basic health facilities to all section of people in viable costs
- Outreach Clinics: To reduce crowding at hospitals, outreach clinics (for example Mohalla clinics in Delhi) should be organised in communities to treat minor illnesses.
- New Health Policy 2016 need to give due priority to it
- All necessary equipment such as PPEs should be provided to the healthcare staff in accordance with the requirements of their station of work.
- Shorter duty hours with rotation and periodic duty offs to relieve stress should be instituted for minimising the attrition of the workforce.
- Issue Effective Guidelines to Private Hospitals:The central and the state governments may issue necessary guidelines seeking cooperation from the private sector.
- This will ease the burden of public hospitals and help in availing treatment to all the patients suffering from Covid-19.
- The strategies to tackle the Non-communicable disease burden need to evolve. Increasing testing and tracing capabilities, lowering the load of the healthcare system; all of us have to play our part and put efforts individually as well as in a community.
