Latest news with #PopulationCensus2027
India Gazette
4 days ago
- Politics
- India Gazette
"We doubt their intention to fulfil this promise regarding caste census": Sachin Pilot
New Delhi [India], June 17 (ANI): Congress leader Sachin Pilot on Tuesday questioned the intention of the BJP-led Union government over the caste census, accusing them of delaying the exercise earlier by citing COVID as an excuse. On caste census, Congress leader Sachin Pilot told reporters, 'BJP and PM Modi had earlier said that the demand for a caste census is being raised by 'Urban Naxals', and they even mentioned in parliament in writing that they do not want to conduct it. After pressure from the opposition, they suddenly accepted our demand. But the notification now says the census will be conducted in 2027. He also questioned the budget allocation to start the exercise in 2027. 'Earlier, they delayed it using COVID as an excuse, and even now, we doubt their intention to fulfil this promise. Around Rs 8,000-10,000 crore is usually spent on the census, but this government has allocated only Rs 570 crore in the budget' He stated that the caste census ensures that the government schemes' benefits reach every beneficiary. 'The caste census is not just to know a person's caste -- it is to ensure that government schemes are reaching the people, to check whether they are benefiting from them, and to understand the employment rate...' The notification to conduct the Census was published in the official Gazette on Monday, following a high-level meeting held in Delhi, where the Home Minister reviewed the plan along with the Union Home Secretary, Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India (RG&CCI), and other senior officials. The Population Census 2027 will begin with a reference date of March 1, 2027, for most parts of the country. The reference date for snow-bound and non-synchronous areas such as Ladakh, Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, and Uttarakhand will be October 1, 2026. (ANI)
India Gazette
4 days ago
- Politics
- India Gazette
Congress MP Deepender Hooda slams Centre's census notification, demands Telangana-style socio-economic data
New Delhi [India], June 17 (ANI): Congress MP Deepender Singh Hooda on Tuesday expressed disappointment over the Government of India's recent census notification, stating it lacks the comprehensive approach adopted by the Telangana government under Chief Minister Revanth Reddy. 'We demanded that on the Telangana pattern, the way Telangana's Revanth Reddy government gathered the information regarding all the socio-economic indicators, a detailed notification should be issued so that all the information is available and on that basis the government should change the policies... The Government of India has not issued any such notification,' Hooda told ANI. Hooda criticised the Centre's notification, published in the Gazette, as 'not much different' from the 2011 census framework. 'The government has not accepted our demand... The Government of India has issued a notification of its own, which is not much different from 2011. So now we are waiting for what steps will be taken next,' he said. Earlier, Congress leader Pawan Khera also took a jibe at the BJP, questioned why there was no mention of caste in the survey, and stated that the BJP had always been opposed to the socio-economic survey of different castes and that the BJP's intentions would always be suspected. 'So, the socio-economic survey is being done on every caste group. This is the real intent, which can be seen through this GO. In yesterday's Government of India notification, where is the word 'caste'? Where have they written a socio-economic survey of caste groups? They haven't. This also shows that since the BJP has always been opposed to socio-economic surveys of different castes, we suspect their intentions always. These questions will be raised on the BJP because their intentions were always suspect,' Khera told ANI. Mocking BJP over no mentions of the word 'caste' in the Census, Khera said 'They don't even dare to mention the word 'caste' in their notification for the Census and they are pointing fingers at a party which has not just done it very successfully in Telangana, which is also following it up and is now ensuring that the Telangana model is followed even in Karnataka,' he said. Applauding the Telangana government's model of Census, Khera stated that the same model was expected to be followed by the Government of India. 'Every single resident of Telangana was involved, and therefore, the report is quite accurate. Based on that report, the Government of Telangana has already taken appropriate steps in the direction of social justice and economic justice. That is a successful model, and we expect the government of India to emulate it,' he added. The notification to conduct the Census was published in the official Gazette on Monday, following a high-level meeting held in Delhi, where the Home Minister reviewed the plan along with the Union Home Secretary, Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India (RG&CCI), and other senior officials. The Population Census 2027 will begin with a reference date of March 1, 2027, for most parts of the country. The reference date for snow-bound and non-synchronous areas such as Ladakh, Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, and Uttarakhand will be October 1, 2026. (ANI)
New Indian Express
05-06-2025
- Politics
- New Indian Express
CM Stalin raises delimitation issue, MHA says Shah assures concerns will be addressed
The spokesperson said the Census was originally scheduled for 2021 and all preparations were completed, but it had to be postponed due to the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. He added that the aftershocks of COVID-19 continued for a long time and disrupted many sectors, including education. Around 30 lakh enumerators are needed for the Census, and most of them are primary school teachers, who are key to the process. Conducting the Census immediately after COVID-19, the spokesperson said, could have severely disrupted primary education. He also noted that countries that carried out their Census soon after the pandemic faced issues related to the quality and coverage of data. The government has now decided to begin the Census process and complete it by March 1, 2027, which will be the reference date for most of the country. He clarified that the budget has never been an issue for conducting the Census, as the government always ensures adequate funding. India's 16th Census, which will include caste enumeration, will be conducted in 2027. The reference date for snow-bound areas like Ladakh will be October 1, 2026, while for the rest of the country it will be March 1, 2027. The MHA said the Population Census 2027 will be carried out in two phases along with the caste count.
Mint
05-06-2025
- Politics
- Mint
Census-2027 reignites delimitation row: ‘BJP plans to reduce Tamil Nadu's Lok Sabha seats,' alleges MK Stalin
The Union government has announced the dates of the long-delayed Census. The government said on Wednesday that the Census will be carried out in two phases before 1 March 2027. This time, the enumerators will collect caste details of residents along with the population numbers. This is happening for the first time since independence. The annoucement has, however, reopened the debate on deimitation with Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin accusing the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government at the centre of planning to reduce Tamil Nadu's parliamentary seats. The Census data is likely become the base for delimitation, women's reservation and one nation, one election. Stalin, the DMK chief, demanded an answer from the Union government over the timing for conducting a caste census, highlighting the constitutional mandate that delimitation must follow the census after 2026. "The Indian Constitution mandates that delimitation must follow the first census after 2026. The BJP has now delayed the census to 2027, making their plan clear to reduce Tamil Nadu's Parliamentary representation," Stalin posted on X. Stalin said that the warnings he issued earlier regarding delimitation are unfolding now. Stalin further attacked All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) General Secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami, accusing him of being "complicit in this betrayal" by siding with the BJP. As per the Ministry of Home Affairs statement on Population Census 2027, the reference date will be March 1. For the Union Territory of Ladakh and the snow-bound areas of Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand, the reference date will be October 1, 2026. The full schedule will be notified on June 16. The reference date is actually a cut-off date, as the population of a country is usually declared as of a specific day or date. The official headcount, and the houselisting process precedes this cut-off date. The whole exercise might take up to another three years for the numbers to be finalised and released. In 2011, the last time the census was conducted, the entire process of houselisting and enumeration was completed before the reference date of March 1, 2011. Census enumeration and the final report released in the next few months is expected to open the doors for delimitation of Lok Sabha seats. The government has also promised to implement 33 per cent reservation for women in Parliament following the delimitation. Parties in the southern states fear that they will lose representation in Parliament if delimitation is conducted based on population enumeration of the latest Census. They argue that southern states have been able to control their populations better compared to northern states over the years and hence they will get less representation in the Parliament if seats are alloted based on population. Earlier this year, the ruling DMK in Tamil Nadu even passed a resolution opposing Census-based delimitation. In March, Stalin-led a joint action committee (JAC) comprising the chief ministers of four states and political parties from three others called for a fair delimitation. The JAC urged the Centre to extend the freeze on the delimitation on parliamentary constituencies by another three decades. During the Emergency (June 25 1975 – March 21, 1977) the Congress government headed by Prime Minister Indira Gandhipassed the 42nd amendment, officially known as The Constitution (Forty-second amendment) Act, 1976. This meant that the 1971 census was used as the reference point until the first census after 2000. It basically froze the number of Lok Sabha seats until after the first Census taken after 2000. In 2002, Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government extended the freeze for next 25 years until at least 2026. It is this freeze on the number of Lok Sabha seats that Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin is urging the Centre to extend for another 30 years. A 2019 analysis by Milan Vaishnaw and Jamie Hintson of Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, projected that a delimitation exercise could see the overall strength of the Lok Sabha rising to 848, with Uttar Pradesh alone seeing its tally increase from the current 80 to 143 by 2026. In contrast, the analysis said, Tamil Nadu, which currently sends 39 representatives, could see the number rise to just 49. Kerala, which sends 20, would see no change at all. This is precisely the concern raised by states in the south. In February, Union minister Amit Shah assured that no southern state, including Tamil Nadu, will see a reduction in Parliamentary representation due to the delimitation exercise. 'I want to reassure the public of South India that Modi ji has kept your interest in mind to make sure that not even one seat is reduced pro rata,' Amit Shah said addressing a gathering in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu. 'Whatever increase is there, Southern states will get a fair share, there is no reason to doubt this," he said. It's now clear that he has surrendered to Delhi's domination. The census, due in 2021, was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Census 2027 is slated to be one of the most comprehensive data-gathering exercises undertaken by the Indian government. Census of India is conducted under the provisions of the Census Act, 1948 and the Census Rules, 1990.
Time of India
04-06-2025
- Business
- Time of India
Census to begin Feb 2027, March 1 set as reference date
India's 16th Census is set for October 1, 2026, in snow-bound areas and March 1, 2027, elsewhere. The Home Ministry plans to issue a notification by June 16, 2025. Caste enumeration will occur alongside the census. The Congress party criticizes the delay, alleging the Modi government's failure to meet deadlines. The last census was in 2011. Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads The much-delayed 16th Census exercise, along with caste enumeration , will be carried out with a reference date of October 1, 2026 in snow-bound areas like Ladakh, and March 1, 2027 in the rest of the country, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) announced on to officials, the process will begin with the issuance of a notification, which is tentatively scheduled to be published in the official gazette on June 16, 2025, under Section 3 of the Census Act, 1948. The final phase of enumeration will begin in February 2027 and conclude on March 1, 2027, which will serve as the national reference date."It has been decided to conduct Population Census 2027 in two phases, along with enumeration of castes. The reference date will be 00:00 hours of March 1, 2027," the MHA said in a Ladakh and other non-synchronous, snow-bound areas of Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, and Uttarakhand, the reference date will be 00:00 hours of October 1, 2026, the ministry Census of India is carried out under provisions of the Census Act, 1948 and the Census Rules, 1990. The last census was conducted in 2011 in two 2021 was also scheduled in two phases-April to September 2020, and February 2021. While preparations were completed for the first phase, the fieldwork set to begin on April 1, 2020, was postponed due to the outbreak of COVID-19, and later due to the 2024 general government has now decided to carry out caste enumeration along with the census. The decision was taken at a cabinet meeting in April 2024. The Registrar General of India is expected to introduce a column for caste, in addition to other demographic data, officials after the Centre announced the Census schedule, the Congress said there is no reason to delay the exercise for another 23 months and alleged that the Modi government does not meet a post on X, Congress general secretary (communications) Jairam Ramesh said, "There is really no reason to delay the Census that was due in 2021 for another twenty three months. The Modi Government is capable only of generating headlines, not meeting deadlines."
