Making sense of census

For all marketing professionals working in large companies, the population census of India is a treasure trove of information.

- AMBI PARAMESWARAN

It gives a listing of all cities, towns, villages, population, as well as key features such as the number of households, electricity connections, bank accounts, internet connections, cooking gas, mobile and smartphones, bicycles, scooters, cars, etc. That makes it a vital guide for sales and marketing planning.

Unfortunately, we did not have the census in 2021 due to the pandemic. Hence, we have got used to rather loose definitions of metros, Tier 1 and Tier 2 towns, etc.

Do all young marketing executives understand the importance of the census? I have asked many management trainee candidates the question, "Can you define what is a 'town' according to the Census of India?" and hear things like "Oh, a town is a conglomeration of population of over 50,000 people, no, 10,000 people should live in an area to be called a town."

Really?

According to the Census of India, an urban area (consisting of towns) is defined as a place that meets the following criteria:

■Population of at least 5,000

■Population density of at least 400 people per square kilometre

■At least 75 per cent of the male working population engaged in non-agricultural activities