India Delays Plan for Population Register, Citing Coronavirus
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Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government has postponed indefinitely plans to begin surveys leading to its next census and a comprehensive population register as it grapples with the spread of coronavirus infections. The process was to have begun in April.
The population registry plan was seen as a precursor to a national citizens register that, along with a new citizenship law, had led to angry protests across India since December. Door-to-door surveys to record the census and start creating a population register were delayed keeping in mind the coronavirus outbreak, the government said in a statement on Wednesday.