Central government says caste data to be part of census

In an important decision today (Wednesday, April 30, 2025), union minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said that caste data will be included in census.

He said that the decision was taken in a meeting of Cabinet Committee of political affairs today.

Under the leadership of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modiji, the Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs, decided today (April 30, 2025) that caste enumeration should be included in the forthcoming census.

He says it demonstrates that the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government is committed to the values and interests of society and country, like in the past when it had introduced 10 per cent reservation for the economically weaker sections of the society without causing stress in any section of the society.

The minister said, "As per article 246 of the Constitution of India, the subject Census is listed at 69 in the Union list in Seventh Schedule. According to Constitution of India, Census is a union subject."

"This will strengthen the social and economic structure of our society while the nation continues to progress," he said.

The minister further said, "Some states have conducted surveys to enumerate castes. Some states have done this well, while some others have conducted such surveys purely from a political angle in a non-transparent way. Such surveys have created doubts in society. Considering all these facts, and to ensure that our social fabric is not disturbed by politics, caste enumeration should be transparently included in the Census instead of surveys."

Taking a dig at the main opposition party, Vaishnaw said that despite recommending caste census in 2010, Congress didn't go ahead with the caste census.

"Then Prime Minister Late Dr Manmohan Singh ji had assured the Lok Sabha that the matter of caste census would be considered in the Cabinet. A Group of Ministers was formed to consider this subject. Most of the political parties had recommended caste census. Despite this, Congress government decided to conduct only a survey instead of caste census. That survey is known as SECC," says Vaishnaw.

A caste census is the type of population survey where data is collected on the basis of caste composition of a country.

In the census, information is gathered on the distribution of castes in a population, considering factors such as their educational levels, socio-economic status, and other relevant parameters.

The purpose of the whole practice is to understand the demographic composition of different caste groups and use this data for resource allocation, evaluating the effectiveness of affirmative action programmed, and policy planning.

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