Kohima, July 30 (DIPR): The Directorate of Census Operations conducted a one-day data dissemination workshop at Hotel Vivor on July 26. 30 participants from 16 Government Departments in the level of Assistant Director and above and officers from Directorate of Census Operations attended the workshop.
The objective of the workshop was to disseminate various data collected during the House listing and Population Census as well the ongoing Sample Registration System (SRS) with the aim of understanding and usage of data in critical planning and decision making and also to stress the importance of using facts and figures as the basis for Government departments in framing policies and formulating strategies for programmes.
The Director of Census Operations gave a presentation on strategic and demographic analysis, highlighting the dynamics of population data, the need to develop skills and knowledge to use population information in the planning process and to understand the impact of planning activities on the basis of population size, composition and distribution. She further reiterated that various schemes and planning are not very effective in Nagaland because policy planners tend to generalize the target section of people, she added that planners need to study changes in the composition of the population to plan for education, health care services and economic development projects, taking into account the age of residents, gender, occupation, level of education, marital status, living arrangements, etc. These data provide us with the type of information needed to plan for the diverse needs of citizens. She further stated that if policies and welfare schemes are not planned according to the demographic needs of residents, (politically motivated), the gap between ‘demand and supply’ would eventually lead to a big gap in the development, which we are now seeing very clearly in some part of the State, adding that policies should ensure 'inclusive growth' in the State. She stated that data relating to all these sectors are readily available with the Census Directorate, while encouraging the various Governments Departments to take advantage of these data, adding that the Staff of Directorate of Census Operations are ready and willing to assist and provide the available data to policy planners anytime.
Speaking on how policies could be planned strategically, she cited certain examples - where majority of the population are children in the age group 0-4, it gives an indication of the burden of child care; in the age group 5 - 14, it is indicative of investment needed for school enrolment and teaching staff; in the age group 18 and above, it indicates a requirement for higher education; women in the age group of 20 - 35, needs would be related to specialized health services related to childbearing; 65 and above, provides an idea about the magnitude of the burden of dependency and its implication for social welfare programmes.
The programme was chaired by Nungsang, DDCO while welcome address and Overview of Census was presented by the Director, Hekali Zhimomi, IAS. Data highlights of population in Nagaland was presented by Imkongnungsang, ADCO and Presentations on Gender Composition and Child population, Literacy, Urbanization, Census house and its uses, Dwelling rooms and household sizes and amenities, and Assets were presented by officers of Directorate of Census Operations. Active discussion and deliberations was carried out during the workshop on the Data highlights which were presented. Many of the participants expressed how helpful the workshop has been and some participants stated that these Data will be used in the planning process for various projects in future. The workshop ended with a vote of thanks by Lucy Tep, Data Dissemination Unit, In-charge.
