Home Minister Amit Shah has proposed a multipurpose ID card for all details of passport, Aadhaar, voter ID, PAN and other info.
“Why can’t we have just one card for all utilities like Aadhaar, passport, bank account, driving licence, voter card? There should be a system that all data should be put together in a single card. This is a potential. That is why digital census is very important,” Shah said.
He said a “digital census” will be carried out in 2021 wherein a mobile app will be used to collect data. The census is estimated to take place from March 1, 2021. For snow-bound areas of Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Jammu & Kashmir, the census will be held from October 1, 2020.
“The census data could be used for planning, development initiatives and welfare schemes in future and significantly contribute to the nation’s progress. India’s total 130 crore population should be informed about its benefits,” he added.
The digital census system would ensure that when a person dies, the information is updated in the population data automatically. The cost of the census will be Rs 12,000 crore. As many as 33 lakh people will conduct the door-to-door counting and they would be encouraged to use their own phone.
