Latest news with #Socio-EconomicandCasteCensus
Hans India
4 days ago
- Politics
- Hans India
Census in J&K, Ladakh, Himachal, U'Khand in 2026, rest in 2027
New Delhi: Sixteen years after the last census in 2011, the government on Monday issued a notification for conducting India's 16th census which will include caste enumeration in 2027. The census will be carried out with a reference date of October 1, 2026 in the snow-bound areas like Ladakh and March 1, 2027 in the rest of the country, the notification said. "The reference date for the said census shall be 00.00 hours of the 1st day of March, 2027, except for the Union territory of Ladakh and snow-bound non-synchronous areas of the Union territory of Jammu and Kashmir and the States of Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand," it said. In respect of Ladakh and snow-bound non-synchronous areas of the Union Territory (UT) of Jammu and Kashmir and the states of Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand, the reference date shall be 00:00 hours of the first day of October, 2026, it said. The massive exercise, which is expected to cost the government over Rs 13,000 crore to give population-related data from across the country, will be conducted by about 34 lakh enumerators and supervisors and around 1.3 lakh census functionaries armed with digital devices. Union Home Minister Amit Shah reviewed the preparation for the census with Union Home Secretary Govind Mohan, Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India Mritunjay Kumar Narayan, and other senior officials here on Sunday. In the upcoming census, caste enumeration will also be done, the first such exercise since Independence. The last comprehensive caste-based count was done by the Britishers between 1881 and 1931. Caste was excluded from all census operations conducted since Independence. The decision to include caste enumeration in the upcoming census was taken by the Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on April 30. "Considering all these circumstances, and to ensure that our social fabric does not come under political pressure, it has been decided that caste enumeration should be included in the main census instead of being conducted as a separate survey," an official statement had said. In 2010, then prime minister Manmohan Singh had assured the Lok Sabha that the matter of caste census would be considered in the cabinet. A group of ministers was formed to deliberate on this subject and majority of the political parties recommended conducting a caste census. However, the previous Congress-led government opted for a survey instead of a caste census, known as the Socio-Economic and Caste Census (SECC).
Hans India
4 days ago
- Politics
- Hans India
Centre notifies 2027 population census
New Delhi: Sixteen years after the last census in 2011, the government on Monday issued a notification for conducting India's 16th census which will include caste enumeration in 2027. The census will be carried out with a reference date of October 1, 2026 in the snow-bound areas like Ladakh and March 1, 2027 in the rest of the country, the notification said. "The reference date for the said census shall be 00.00 hours of the 1st day of March, 2027, except for the Union territory of Ladakh and snow-bound non-synchronous areas of the Union territory of Jammu and Kashmir and the States of Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand," it said. In respect of Ladakh and snow-bound non-synchronous areas of the Union Territory (UT) of Jammu and Kashmir and the states of Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand, the reference date shall be 00:00 hours of the first day of October, 2026, it said. The massive exercise, which is expected to cost the government over Rs 13,000 crore to give population-related data from across the country, will be conducted by about 34 lakh enumerators and supervisors and around 1.3 lakh census functionaries armed with digital devices. Union Home Minister Amit Shah reviewed the preparation for the census with Union Home Secretary Govind Mohan, Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India Mritunjay Kumar Narayan, and other senior officials here on Sunday. In the upcoming census, caste enumeration will also be done, the first such exercise since Independence. The last comprehensive caste-based count was done by the Britishers between 1881 and 1931. Caste was excluded from all census operations conducted since Independence. The decision to include caste enumeration in the upcoming census was taken by the Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on April 30. "Considering all these circumstances, and to ensure that our social fabric does not come under political pressure, it has been decided that caste enumeration should be included in the main census instead of being conducted as a separate survey," an official statement had said. In 2010, then prime minister Manmohan Singh had assured the Lok Sabha that the matter of caste census would be considered in the cabinet. A group of ministers was formed to deliberate on this subject and majority of the political parties recommended conducting a caste census. However, the previous Congress-led government opted for a survey instead of a caste census, known as the Socio-Economic and Caste Census (SECC).
Time of India
04-06-2025
- Business
- Time of India
Census from March 2027: Caste enumeration to be part of exercise; early start in J&K, Uttarakhand
NEW DELHI: The government on Wednesday announced that the next nationwide census will commence on March 1, 2027. However, in Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh, and Uttarakhand, the census process is expected to begin earlier, from October 2026. The nationwide census will also for the first time in over seven decades, include caste enumeration. The move marks a major policy shift, with the Centre saying that the decision was made to ensure transparency, national consistency, and to address growing demands for accurate caste data. Also read: What is caste census, and why does it matter - explained Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw had confirmed the development during a Cabinet briefing on April 30, saying that the cabinet committee on political affairs had approved the inclusion of caste data in the main census. Vaishnaw further noted that while Article 246 of the Constitution lists census as a Union subject, states have taken varied approaches to caste-based surveys. 'Some states have conducted surveys transparently, but others have not. These inconsistencies have raised doubts and could disturb social harmony,' he said. The minister added that the new decision would ensure that the country's social fabric is protected from political misuse. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like 5 Books Warren Buffett Wants You to Read In 2025 Blinkist: Warren Buffett's Reading List Undo The upcoming caste census follows years of political debate and delayed decisions. The last national effort to collect caste-related data was through the Socio-Economic and Caste Census (SECC) in 2011 under the UPA government. However, that data was never fully published or utilised, drawing criticism from social activists and political parties alike. Caste enumeration in India was last comprehensively carried out under British rule between 1881 and 1931. Experts believe the renewed effort is crucial. 'A caste census is critical to uncover structural inequalities and design inclusive policies,' said Poonam Muttreja, executive director of the Population Foundation of India had said while speaking to PTI.
Time of India
04-06-2025
- Business
- Time of India
Caste census exercise to start from March 1, 2027 across country
(You can now subscribe to our (You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel The caste census exercise will start from March 1, 2027 across the country with a prior start in hilly states from October 1, the Union Cabinet has approved the inclusion of caste-based enumeration in the next national census. The decision was taken by the Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs chaired by PM Narendra Independence, caste data has not been part of the main census operations. In 2010, then Prime Minister late Manmohan Singh assured the Lok Sabha that the issue of including caste in the census would be considered. A Group of Ministers was formed to review the matter, and many political parties recommended caste enumeration. However, the Congress-led government at the time opted for a separate survey, known as the Socio-Economic and Caste Census (SECC), instead of including caste data in the official census, Vaishnaw highlighted.
Indian Express
26-05-2025
- Politics
- Indian Express
Opinion A properly conducted caste census offers a rare chance to ground policy in reality
The Narendra Modi government's decision to include caste enumeration in the forthcoming Census must be welcomed, but with enormous caution and with our fingers crossed. Given the propensity of our political class to use caste for narrow and short-term electoral gain, a lot of scepticism about the matter is warranted. The rationale for a caste census ought to be based on two considerations. First, however complex caste is, it cannot be ignored as it impinges on every aspect of life in this country. Counting and collating social reality is inherently good for administrative purposes. The second consideration is the other side of the coin — that we must end both policymaking and arguments relying on 'guesstimates' of the socio-economic status of the castes. The government might have solved the problem of facing increasing demands for caste census, and also scored a few brownie points, but it has set in motion a very delicate, daunting and contentious journey. Though the future is unknown, one is free to speculate on the trajectory of the caste census, if the saga of the 2011 Socio-Economic and Caste Census (SECC) is any indication. It is hard to judge whether SECC was an exercise in bad faith, or if it ran aground as the complexities of caste were too many. One problem is the sheer number of castes to be enumerated, and the other, the confusion over some caste names. For example, whereas the 1931 census counted 4,147 castes, the number increased to 46,73,034 when the SECC was carried out. The forthcoming enumeration has reportedly taken into account these problems, and the final number of castes will be a few thousand and in the region of the 1931 numbers, not in lakhs as in the SECC. The tenacity of caste is another problem that's been bedevilling India's social policy. Be it formulating rights and privileges, or giving effect to those rights — for example, in the form of granting quotas — the state is becoming a handmaid to society: Instead of being guided by norms and ideals that the Constitution enshrines, the state merely acquiesces to the agenda set by society. Hence, the demand for a caste census. Ironically, the reason several castes are clamouring to be counted formally is the logic that the numbers determine the rights, or the quantum of quotas. The numbers game must give us two nightmares. On the electoral/ political plane, the fine slicing of society into a few thousand pieces will ultimately result in political instability. India has been lucky to have produced, at the national level, two big-tent parties (BJP and Congress) and charismatic leaders. Tragic will be the day when the country runs out of luck. The second nightmare is administrative. It is not merely a matter of facing more demands for quotas or sub-quotas. Even after adding copious portions of good faith to the exercise, the end result will be contentious. Can the government use the caste census to bring clarity and finality to the never-ending demands for quotas and sub-quotas? Be that as it may, this stupendous challenge can also be an opportunity if the government is willing to bring about a paradigm shift. Since 1935, when the Dalits and tribals were christened respectively as Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (SC/STs), all law-making and policy formulation on quotas have miraculously been in sync with the caste divisions prescribed by Manusmriti. In the context of the four-fold caste system, the 'top' three (the so-called twice-born) castes are now classified as Economically Weaker Sections (EWSs), the fourth cluster (Shudras) is identified as Other Backward Classes (OBCs) and the Most Backward Classes (MBCs). Those outside the caste fold are the SC/STs. The SC/STs have distinct identities of being victims of untouchability and physical isolation, among others. Therefore, no other social group can be classified as one of them. But, within the four-fold caste system, one can find ample evidence of an upper caste household (EWS) being almost similar to an OBC household, or vice versa. Therefore, we must end the fiction that upper castes merely suffer from economic backwardness, whereas the OBCs suffer from both economic and social backwardness. Of course, the clustering of castes for granting quotas is an administrative exercise, not a matter related to the Constitution or the census enumeration. However, since this counting is taking place in the context of quotas, while counting castes for what they are, the collection of household data needs to be expanded so that the categorisation of households based on their backwardness becomes possible. This will enable an OBC category to encompass not only the Shudra households but also upper caste households. A brave government can go so far as to cluster creamy-layer SC/STs with the other two groups, and so on and so forth. There are two benefits of collecting adequate household data that would enable the government to come up with new categorisations based on the socio-economic status of castes. One, caste divisions within the Hindu society could be minimised if the government regards it as desirable. Two, the census data could be the sole criterion for all governments to consider quota-related demands. To belabour the point, a re-categorisation of households of the 4,000 or so castes into three or four groups based on socio-economic criteria could bring about some sanity to our politics and governance.
