Software for holding 7th census inaugurated

ISLAMABAD: The government has inaugurated pilot census software for holding the 7th Population & Housing Census.

According to an official announcement made here on Friday, Federal Secretary Planning Syed Zafar Ali Shah inaugurated the software, as PBS is planning for first ever Digital Population and Housing Census. During his visit to PBS, Secretary (PD & SI) was briefed about Data Dissemination Dashboards and Price Information Management System (PIMS).

The listing and enumeration Applications of 7th Population and Housing Census, 2022 were also displayed to the Secretary (PD & SI). Syed Zafar Ali Shah, Secretary PD & SI, while addressing PBS staff, emphasised that a good leadership, efficient team and vigilance at operating level can be beneficial for development of an organisation. He requested for a quick round of introduction with the PBS team present on the occasion.

Chief Statistician Dr Naeem uz Zafar welcomed the secretary on behalf of PBS staff. He said data collection exercise for pilot census has been started by PBS field staff for testing the tools, mechanism and field operation. Through this exercise, PBS will be able to point out and rectify all minor and major issues regarding software and field execution plan before undergoing full rollout.

He said meeting is conducted to present a brief of two important activities i.e. Population and Housing Census and National Accounts and requested relevant members for presentations in their areas.

Muhammad Sarwar Gondal, Member RM/SS, in his presentation on 7th Digital Population and Housing Census, informed that with the approval of results of 6th Population and Housing Census by Council of Common Interest (CCI), it was advised to conduct next census immediately by using latest tools and technologies and following world’s best practices. It was also recommended that for wider acceptability of census results, all the stakeholders must be part of census process from planning till finalisation and dissemination of results through an effective communication strategy.

A census monitoring committee, comprising of important provincial functionaries, researchers and demographers, was constituted to monitor all population census activities. Geo tagging, data collection and listing software, standardised concepts of field force through extensive trainings and real time monitoring are the innovations recommended by the committee for reliability, acceptability and reducing time between field operation and results announcements.

Syed Ejaz Ali Shah Wasti, Member National Accounts, gave an overview of system of National Accounts, Prices, Macro Economic Statistics, PSDP Projects and compilation of National Accounts. He discussed National Price Monitoring Committee, its composition and functions. The methodologies of different activities and future milestones were also discussed.

UN statistical system, World Bank policies and IMF guidelines were discussed in the scenario of Pakistan. He also threw light on gross value addition regional comparison in rebasing and rebasing interval.

Secretary PD & SI, Syed Zafar Ali Shah, appreciated the efforts of leadership and supporting officers of PBS and showed keen interest in both the fields. He said both the activities — Population Census and National Accounts — are crucial for policy-making and planning. Further, he showed satisfaction over the Population and Housing Census.

He directed the timelines be followed strictly so that next general elections may be conducted on upcoming census as per decision of CCI. In the end, he said reliable data leads to correct policy-making. Therefore, being a data provider, the role of PBS is very important in the development of country.