Demography panel to study population changes post 2011 Census, prepares questionnaire for States

📌 Summary:

• The High-Level Committee on Demographic Changes (HLCDC), led by a retired Supreme Court judge, will send questionnaires to Chief Secretaries of all States
• Aim: seek details of population changes and increases in settlements since the last Census (2011)
• Methodology: the panel will compare 2011 Census data with the present scenario to gauge the scale of change, and will also physically visit affected areas
• The questions pertain specifically to changes occurring after the 2011 Census
• Significance: comes amid a prolonged gap since the last decennial Census (2011); demographic-change data feeds into planning, delimitation debates and welfare targeting

🎯 UPSC Relevance: GS1 Society — population and demographic change; GS2 Governance — data for policy planning and resource allocation; relevance to the delayed Census and delimitation discourse.

📝 Prelims Facts:

• Body: High-Level Committee on Demographic Changes (HLCDC), headed by a retired Supreme Court judge
• Last Census in India: 2011 (decennial Census normally held every 10 years)
• Questionnaires to be sent to Chief Secretaries of all States

🔑 Key Term: Demographic change — shifts in the size, composition, distribution and settlement patterns of a population over time.