Bharat Electronic Ltd has prepared the low cost tablet PCs for the mammoth task of determining the caste, economic criteria, educational background and social linkages of the country’s 1.20 billion population.
Instead of pen and paper, the census enumerators will use indigenously developed tablet computers to record the data of country’s poor.
They’ll start this task on Wednesday. The Bharat Electronic Ltd (BEL) has prepared the low cost tablet PCs for the mammoth task of determining the caste, economic criteria, educational background and social linkages of the country’s 1.20 billion population.
This exercise assumes importance more so now when the Supreme Court has repeatedly slammed the Union government and the Planning Commission on their criteria for judging ‘poor’; below and above the poverty people.
A nationwide census begins with Tripura to identify Indians living below the poverty line (BPL) and help determine those eligible for social welfare schemes meant for the poor.
Recently, the Supreme Court virtually pulled up the government and its instrumentalities on what it termed as ‘creating two Indians’, rich and poor. It asked Planning Commission deputy chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia to explain how the panel had determined the percentage of people living below poverty line (BPL) at 36%. Moreover, how was it that the purchasing power of the class of people remained unchanged since 1991?
Various states that filed their affidavits insisted that the BPL percentage is much more than the 36% as fixed by the commission. They have sought more food grains for distribution among the BPL and APL families.
“How can you fix such a limit when the per capita income varies from state to state?” the court asked the government.
It also questioned the Commission for fixing the per capita daily income of Rs20 in urban areas and Rs11 in rural areas to determine the BPL category. “How can you justify fixation of this meager amount when even in the rural areas the amount is not enough’’, judges who are also affected by high inflation and price rise added.
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
)
)
)
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}