According to the Census 2011, which of the following statements is/are correct? 1. A person who can only read but cannot write, is not literate. 2. A person aged seven years and above, who can both read and write with understanding in any language is treated as literate. Select the correct answer using the code given below.
- (a)1 only
- (b)2 only
- (c)Both 1 and 2
- (d)Neither 1 nor 2
Correct — C, Both 1 and 2. The Census of India has used the same working definition since 1991: a person aged seven years and above who can both read and write with understanding in any language is treated as literate. Statement 2 quotes it almost word for word, so it is plainly right. Statement 1 is the same rule turned into its consequence — because the definition requires reading and writing together, someone who can read but cannot write falls outside it and is not counted as literate. Both statements therefore stand, and the pair is what the key accepts.
- (a)1 only — Accepts the consequence while rejecting the definition it comes from. Statement 2 is the Census wording itself, down to the age of seven and the phrase about any language.
- (b)2 only — Accepts the definition and then refuses to apply it. If literacy requires both skills, a person with only one of them cannot be literate — statement 1 says no more than that.
- (d)Neither 1 nor 2 — Rejects both, which would leave the Census with no definition of literacy at all. The seven-years-and-above, read-and-write-with-understanding formula has been the standard since the 1991 count.
The Census literacy definition has three deliberate parts. The age floor of seven excludes children too young to have been schooled, so the literacy rate is calculated on the population aged seven and above rather than on everyone. Both skills are required, reading and writing together. And the phrase 'with understanding' rules out mere mechanical copying or the signing of a name. Any language qualifies — literacy in Indian censuses has never been tied to English or to any single language. The 2011 Census recorded overall literacy at 74.04 per cent, with male literacy at 82.14 and female at 65.46.
Both statements say the same thing from opposite ends, which is what makes 'both' the natural answer once the definition is recalled precisely. The item punishes half-memories in two specific places. One is the age: before 1991 the literacy rate was computed on the whole population, and shifting the base to age seven and above is why series from before and after that year cannot be compared directly. The other is the conjunction: read and write, not read or write. A student who remembers only 'can read and write' without noticing that both are required will hesitate over statement 1. Worth adding for a present-day reader that these figures are still the 2011 ones — the census due in 2021 was postponed, and the Government has since announced that the next census will be conducted with a reference date of 1 March 2027, so 74.04 per cent remains the last official national literacy figure.
- Since 1991 the Census has defined a literate person as one aged seven years or above who can both read and write with understanding in any language.
- Because both skills are required, a person who can only read is not counted as literate.
- Literacy rate is computed on the population aged seven and above, not on the whole population.
- The 2011 Census recorded literacy at 74.04 per cent overall, 82.14 per cent for males and 65.46 per cent for females.
- Literacy in any language qualifies; no particular language is prescribed.
Statement 2 is the definition; statement 1 is what follows from its second clause.
- Remembering the age threshold as five or six rather than seven.
- Reading the definition as 'read or write' and so rejecting statement 1.
- Assuming literacy must be in a particular language, when the Census accepts any.
As a statements item on the definition, as a direct item on the age threshold, or as a data item on the 2011 literacy rates.
Which one among the following States has the highest female literacy rate as per the Census 2001?
- (a) Chhattisgarh
- (b) Madhya Pradesh
- (c) Orissa
- (d) Rajasthan
Answer(a) Chhattisgarh
The same measure used rather than defined. Every female literacy figure quoted there is a percentage of females aged seven and above, which is precisely the base this item asks you to recall.
CDS_GK_2020_I_Q1152020According to the Census 2011, in India, what is the percentage of people (approximately) considered to be migrants (internal), i.e., now settled in a place different from their previous residence?
- (a) 25%
- (b) 35%
- (c) 45%
- (d) 55%
Answer(b) 35%
CDS returns often to the 2011 Census, and usually to a definition rather than a headline. There it is what counts as an internal migrant; here it is what counts as a literate person.
- practice — not a real PYQ
For the purpose of the Census of India, the literacy rate is computed for the population of which age group?
- (a)All ages
- (b)Five years and above
- (c)Seven years and above
- (d)Fifteen years and above
Answer(c) Seven years and above — the base was shifted to age seven from the 1991 Census onwards.
- practice — not a real PYQ
As per the Census of India 2011, the overall literacy rate of the country was closest to
- (a)64 per cent
- (b)74 per cent
- (c)82 per cent
- (d)88 per cent
Answer(b) 74 per cent — the 2011 figure was 74.04 per cent, with 82.14 per cent for males and 65.46 per cent for females.