DATA DISSEMINATION UNIT

1. The Data Dissemination Unit in the Office of the Registrar General, India is responsible for conducting the field work for collection of data on District Census Handbook (DCHB) and the dissemination of the publications/reports of all divisions of ORGI and results of decennial Census for use by the fraternity of data users in the country and abroad. They include users from Government Departments, Universities, National and International Organizations, Private and Public Enterprises, Individual Research Scholars and other users.

2. According to Principles and Recommendations for Population and Housing Censuses published by the United Nations, ‘A census is not complete until the information collected is made available to potential users in a form suited to their needs. The information may be included in published tables and reports for general distribution, produced as tables in unpublished form for limited distribution or stored in a database and supplied upon request, or disseminated on-line (in this case it will be available only to connected population)’.

3. The objective of the above Recommendations is achieved in India by disseminating the census data to the ever-growing number of data users using all available modes. These include printed reports and tables, data in CD and also available for free download through the ORGI’s website. ORGI’s website has been providing larger volume of data up to village/ward level, for free download. One important part of the ORGI’s website relates to GIS application which extends the facility of generating thematic maps based on Census data.

4. The Data Dissemination Centers have also been set up in all the State Capitals in the Census Directorates (except the UTs namely Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu; and Leh (Ladakh)) as hubs of dissemination activities. The data up to the Village/Ward level is being made available to the users through these centers. Such datasets help local governments to take informed decisions in developing programmes for the welfare of the people. With the growing popularity of the computing facility and communication facility, the demand and use of census data has increased substantially.

5. An intranet facility has also been established within the organization for faster flow of census data and other information across the country serving the data users located in different parts of the country and outside. Various innovative programs have been initiated to sensitize data users about availability and use of census data. New data products in the form of booklets, CDs, Data Sheets, etc. have been published.

6. Another major innovative step taken by the ORGI is to set up Workstations for Research on Sample Micro-Data from Census. The Office of the Registrar General, India intends to allow researchers to access sample micro-data from 2001 Census and 2011 Census for research to Universities/Institutes. The first Workstation for research on sample micro-data was established at Jawaharlal Nehru University, Delhi under the supervision of Centre for Social Research and Development (CSRD). All published Tables from 1991 to 2011 Censuses in soft copy format and also 1% and 5% sample micro-data on House listing from 2001 and 2011 Censuses were made available. Following the success of JNU Workstation, similar Workstations have also been set up in 17 Universities/Institutes across the country. The total approved 18 work stations are 1. JNU, Delhi, 2. Punjabi University, Patiala, 3. Gokhale Institute of Politics and Economics, Pune, 4. University of Kerala, Thiruvananthapuram, 5. Goa University, Goa, 6. Nabakrushna Choudhury Centre for Development Studies, Bhubaneswar, 7. Ranchi University, 8. Rajasthan University, Jaipur, 9. Madras University, Chennai, 10. University of Kashmir, Srinagar, 11. Gujarat University, Ahmedabad, 12. Pt. Ravi Shankar Shukla University, Raipur, 13. Kashi Hindu University, Varanasi, 14. IIM, Bangalore, 15. ISI, Kolkata, 16. Doon University, Dehradun, 17. Vikram University, Ujjain and 18. A. N. Sinha Institute, Patna. DDU monitors the work of these Census Workstations.

7. The DDU in ORGI/DCOs frequently participates in National/State Book Fairs/events and also organizes subject specific workshops after release of Census results.