<strong>Census phase 2 likely to accept half-filled forms </strong>
In the first phase of the census — involving housing and houselisting operations — those opting for self-enumeration were not able to submit the form with blank fields

NEW DELHI: Census authorities are considering allowing persons self-enumerating for the population enumeration phase of Census 2027 to submit a partially filled form online.In the first phase of the census – involving housing and houselisting operations – those opting for self-enumeration were not able to submit the form with blank fields. If any field was left blank – either accidentally or intentionally due to lack of clarity – the user could not advance to the submission window.Sources said that it was felt during discussions among census teams that this feature forced many to opt out of self-enumeration and rely on the enumerator’s visit to record their replies to the questionnaire.There is now a realisation that even a partially filled form, provided a minimum number of questions are answered, would help in easing the task of the enumerator. Besides, self-declared data tends to be more accurate and reliable.“Internal deliberations focused on why the self-enumeration option should not be made flexible, given that the data is to be entered digitally either by the respondent or the enumerator.

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