Census 2011

Census 2011 was the 15th decennial census of India and the seventh since Independence, conducted under the Census Act, 1948 and the Census Rules, 1990, by the Office of the Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India (ORGI) under the Ministry of Home Affairs. The reference date for the population count was 00:00 hours of 1 March 2011 (with 1 October 2010 for snow-bound areas of Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand). It was carried out in two phases — Houselisting and Housing Census (April–September 2010) and Population Enumeration (9–28 February 2011). The motto of the exercise was "Our Census, Our Future." C. Chandramouli served as the Census Commissioner. Census 2011 was also the first census in which the National Population Register (NPR) was simultaneously compiled, capturing biometric and demographic details of usual residents.

The census recorded India's total population at 1,210,854,977 (1.21 billion), comprising 623.7 million males and 587.4 million females. The decadal growth rate (2001–2011) was 17.7 per cent, a sharp decline from 21.5 per cent in the previous decade — the first decade since 1921 in which the absolute number of population added was lower than the preceding decade for several states. The overall sex ratio improved to 943 females per 1,000 males, the highest since Independence, but the child sex ratio (0–6 years) fell to a record low of 919, signalling persistent female foeticide. Literacy rose to 74.04 per cent (male 82.14 per cent, female 65.46 per cent), with Kerala the most literate state (94 per cent) and Bihar the least. Population density reached 382 persons per sq km. Uttar Pradesh remained the most populous state and Nagaland uniquely recorded negative decadal growth (–0.58 per cent).

Salient findings tested in exams include: Kerala recording the highest sex ratio (1,084) and Haryana the lowest (879); Thane the most populous district and Dakshin Dinajpur among the fastest-growing; and the proportion of the urban population rising to 31.16 per cent, with the absolute increase in urban population (2001–2011) exceeding the rural increase for the first time. Census 2011 also generated the Socio Economic and Caste Census (SECC) 2011, conducted separately, which became the basis for identifying beneficiaries under schemes like PM-KISAN, Ayushman Bharat and PMAY. As of 2026, Census 2011 remains the latest completed census, since Census 2021 was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, making 2011 data the operative basis for delimitation, planning and welfare targeting.

For the UPSC examination, Census 2011 is foundational across GS Paper I (Indian Society and Geography) — demographic dividend, urbanisation, migration, population distribution and the Prelims factual questions on sex ratio, literacy, density and growth-rate rankings. The typical Mains question angle links census data to policy: declining child sex ratio and the Beti Bachao Beti Padhao scheme, the demographic dividend window, or rural–urban migration patterns. Candidates should memorise key state-level extremes and distinguish the census from the SECC and NPR.