First fully digitised National Marine Fisheries Census 2025 launched
Kochi (PTI): Union Minister George Kurian on Friday launched the household enumeration phase of the fully digitised National Marine Fisheries Census (MFC) 2025 at the ICAR-Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute (CMFRI) here.
Kurian urged all officers and enumerators participating in the census to ensure the registration of all fishers and fish workers on the National Fisheries Digital Platform (NFDP), noting that it is mandatory for availing benefits under the Pradhan Mantri Matsya Kisan Samridhi Sah-Yojana (PM-MKSSY).
"Only fishermen and fish farmers registered on the portal will be eligible to receive financial assistance from the central government," the union minister of state for fisheries said, adding that registration could be carried out through Common Service Centres (CSCs).
Describing the census as a milestone in India’s digital and data-driven fisheries governance, Kurian said, "This edition marks a major technological shift as the first fully digitised data collection in the history of Indian fisheries."
Kurian called upon all state fisheries departments, local bodies, and community organisations to extend full cooperation to make the ‘Smart Census, Smarter Fisheries’ initiative a success.
Following the launch, live field data collection from Maharashtra and Kerala was displayed at the venue, showcasing real-time digital data capture and central monitoring of the process using two mobile applications, VyAS Bharat and VyAS Sutra — developed by CMFRI, a press release said.
The apps enable geo-referenced data collection, instant verification, and seamless transmission to central servers, ensuring accuracy, transparency, and efficiency, CMFRI said
According to CMFRI, the 45-day nationwide enumeration will be conducted from November 3 to December 18, covering over 1.2 million fisher households across 4,000 marine fishing villages in 9 coastal states and 4 union territories, with thousands of trained field staff participating.
The exercise is coordinated by the Department of Fisheries (DoF) under the Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana (PMMSY), with CMFRI as the nodal agency and the Fishery Survey of India (FSI) as the operational partner, a press release said.
Economic Advisor to the Ministry of Fisheries, Dr Ajay Srivastava, presided over the function.
Union Fisheries Secretary Dr Abhilaksh Likhi, Joint Secretary Neetu Kumari Prasad, ICAR Assistant Director General Dr Shubdeep Ghosh, CMFRI Director Dr Grinson George, CIFT Director Dr George Ninan, FSI Director General Dr Sreenath K R, Marine Census Principal Investigator Dr J Jaysankar, Dr Somy Kuriakose, and Dr C Ramachandran also spoke.
The event was followed by a national workshop featuring presentations from coastal states and interactions with representatives of fishing communities.
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Women's reservation must be implemented without being made contingent on delimitation: CM
Bengaluru (PTI): Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Wednesday said that the Women's Reservation Bill is a long-overdue reform that must be implemented immediately within the existing framework, without being made contingent on delimitation.
Terming the delimitation as the political re-engineering at the cost of southern states, Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar said that these states will stand united, speak in one voice, and defend the true spirit of federalism.
The leaders' statements came a day before the Constitutional Amendment Bill with provisions on women's reservation implementation and delimitation was tabled in the Lok Sabha.
"You are right in highlighting the larger implications of the proposed delimitation approach and the concerns it raises for southern states. We wholeheartedly support the Women's Reservation Bill - it is a long-overdue reform that must be implemented immediately within the existing framework, without being made contingent on delimitation," Siddaramaiah said in a post on 'X'.
He was replying to his Telangana counterpart A Revanth Reddy's post on 'X' with a letter, urging the former to unitedly resist moves to push a pro rata model to increase Lok Sabha seats, which would be highly detrimental and inimical to the interests of southern states.
"Any exercise that reshapes political representation must be undertaken with utmost care. The Union Government must engage all states in a transparent and consultative process, and ensure that fairness, federal balance, and consensus guide this critical decision," Siddaramaiah added.
Shivakumar said that this is not a delimitation, but political re-engineering "at the cost of southern states".
"The proposal to increase Lok Sabha seats from 543 to 850 will systematically reduce the voice of the South, while rewarding unchecked population growth elsewhere. This is nothing but punishing progress and good governance," he posted on 'X'.
Clarifying that Congress fully supports women's reservation and in fact, it was party's top leader Sonia Gandhi's vision and commitment that brought this dream to the national agenda, the Deputy CM said, "We demand that it be implemented without linking it to delimitation or seat expansion."
"I urge the Union Govt to not hide behind women's empowerment to push a deely unfair political agenda. Rushing such a massive restructuring of India's democracy during elections, without transparency or consultation, is deeply suspicious and unacceptable," he said.
Asserting that India's strength lies in balance not domination, and in fairness, not manipulation, Shivakumar said, "The Southern states will stand united, speak in one voice, and defend the true spirit of federalism."
"We will not allow the South to be politically marginalised."
