Millions of census workers fanned out across India on Wednesday as they began a mammoth effort to document every person in the world’s second most populous country over the next three weeks。

 

　　First counted in New Delhi was President Pratibha Devisingh Patil at her pink sandstone presidential palace. Next, Congress Party chief Sonia Gandhi sat with the census-takers under a banyan tree in her yard while inspecting and signing off on a 29-point questionnaire listing income, religion, education and access to basic utilities among other topics。

 

　　The details may help authorities identify areas where neglect is high, where poverty is particularly rife and where high numbers of people are unable to read or to work。

 

　　“It is the second-largest census in the world,” Vice President Hamid Ansari told Press Trust of India news agency after being counted。

 

　　India could soon rival China as the world’s most populous, however, with a yearly growth rate of about 1.4 percent。

 

　　Indian officials say the national count, taken every 10 years, is crucial for both the government and private sector to set relevant policies, programs and budgets. This is the second phase of the census, with the first last year listing some 300 million Indian households and estimating the population to be around 1.17 billion。

 

　　For the first time, the census is noting whether people live in mud huts or concrete structures, have electricity or access to toilets, and if they have ever been to school even if they don’t go anymore。

 

　　India has appointed some 2.7 million census-takers, many of them school teachers, who are also collecting name and address details to be used later in issuing identity cards as part of a National Population Register, for which citizens will also have to provide fingerprints and be photographed at some later date。

 

　　Officials warn that people trying to hide facts or give false answers may be fined up to 1,000 rupees (about $ 22)。

 

　　自本周三起，印度全国数百万人口普查员将展开为期三周的人口普查工作。印度人口总量位居全球第二，普查任务十分艰巨。

 

　　印度总统普拉蒂巴•德维辛格•帕蒂尔在她粉红砂岩的总统府内接受了人口普查，成为首位在新德里接受普查的公民。随后，国大党主席索尼娅•甘地在院内的一棵菩提树下和普查员坐在一起，审阅并填写了普查问卷，其中列有收入、宗教信仰、受教育程度、基础设施使用等29个项目。

 

　　问卷详细信息将有助于政府找出那些极不受重视、贫困非常普遍、文盲率或失业率较高的地区。

 

　　副总统哈米德•安萨里在接受普查后告诉印度报业托拉斯：“这是全球第二大人口普查。”

 

　　然而，随着该国人口年增长约1.4%，印度人口即将超过中国，成为世界上人口最多的国家。

 

　　印度官员表示，十年一度的人口普查对于政府和私营部门制定有关政策、计划和预算都至关重要。目前已进入普查的第二阶段。在去年的阶段中，共有3亿户家庭接受普查，估计人口总数约为11.7亿。

 

　　此次普查涉及居民是否居住在茅草棚或混凝土建筑、家中是否通电、是否有卫生间、是否曾入学读书，哪怕目前已经辍学等问题。

 

　　印度指派了大约270万名普查员，其中很多人是教师。普查员搜集的姓名和住址等信息随后还将用于发放身分证，这也是全国人口登记的一项内容。为此，公民在稍后还需提供指纹和照片。

 

　　印度官员提醒称，试图瞒报或谎报信息者将被处以最多一千卢比(大约22美元)罚款。

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