Federal cooperation is essential for any Centre-led demographic assessment exercise. Discuss with reference to the High-Level Committee on Demographic Change's engagement with States/UTs.

Q. Federal cooperation is essential for any Centre-led demographic assessment exercise. Discuss with reference to the High-Level Committee on Demographic Change's engagement with States/UTs. (15 marks, 250 words)

Demographic data on migration, settlement and border populations resides largely with States, whose administrations run land records, policing and civil registration. Hence the MHA's High-Level Committee on Demographic Change (2025), chaired by Justice P.P. Navlekar, cannot function as a purely central exercise [1].

Why federal cooperation is essential - Data ownership: reliable ground-level detail on "abnormal" settlement rests with State/UT machinery, not the Centre; the Committee itself plans field visits to gather first-hand inputs from State Governments [2]. - Constitutional scheme: public order and police are State subjects (List II), while citizenship and foreigners fall to the Union — assessment straddles both, demanding cooperative federalism. - Legitimacy: findings touching religious and social communities [1] risk being contested unless States co-own the process, avoiding a top-down, adversarial reading.

The Committee's engagement with States/UTs - It has prepared a detailed questionnaire for States/UTs in advance, to make visits "more meaningful and interactive" [2]. - It seeks feedback from central ministries too, framing an inter-governmental, consultative exercise [2]. - Yet consent-based data-sharing may face resistance in some States over data sensitivity and profiling fears, underscoring that persuasion, not mandate, will determine success.

Thus federal cooperation is not a procedural courtesy but the operational backbone of credible demographic assessment. If the Committee institutionalises transparent, consultative State engagement—echoing the spirit of cooperative federalism—its recommendations can command wider acceptance and translate into workable policy.

(~250 words)

Sources: 1. The Government of India constitutes the 'High-Level Committee on Demographic Change' (PIB) — Committee's constitution, chair (Justice Navlekar), mandate and community-level analysis 2. High Level Committee on Demographic Changes calls on Union Home Minister Shri Amit Shah (PIB) — plan for State/UT visits, questionnaire for States/UTs, and ministry feedback