Caste-based enumeration to be part of upcoming census: Union government
What's the story
The Indian government has announced that it will include caste-based enumeration in the upcoming decennial census.
The decision was taken at a meeting of the high-powered Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs (CCPA) chaired by PM Narendra Modi on Wednesday.
Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said this move "demonstrates that the government is committed to the values and interests of the society."
Political backdrop
Decision follows push from opposition parties
Caste census was one of the opposition INDIA bloc's promises ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha election.
In 2022, Bihar, then allied with the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) and the Congress, became the first state in independent India to successfully enumerate all castes.
Since then, Congress-ruled Karnataka and Telangana have also undertaken the caste census.
Transparency emphasized
Minister advocates for transparent implementation of caste enumeration
Hitting out at these states, Vaishnaw accused them of politicizing the matter and calling the surveys "unscientific" and non-transparent
"Some states have conducted surveys to enumerate castes. While some states have done this well, some others conducted such surveys only from a political angle in a non-transparent way."
"Such surveys created doubts in society. To ensure that our social fabric is not disturbed by politics, caste enumeration should be included in the census instead of surveys," he said.
Criticism
Union Minister criticizes opposition's approach to caste census
He went on to argue that the Congress governments have always opposed the caste census.
"In 2010, the late Dr. Manmohan Singh said that the matter of caste census should be considered in the Cabinet. A group of ministers was formed to consider this subject. Most of the political parties have recommended a caste census."
"Despite this, the Congress government decided to conduct a survey of caste or a caste census," the minister added.
Decisions
Other decisions taken during the CCPA meeting
At the CCPA meeting, the government also approved the development of a 166.80 km high-speed corridor (NH-6) from Mawlyngkhung in Meghalaya to Panchgram in Assam on Hybrid Annuity Mode (HAM) at a total cost of ₹22,864 crore.
It also approved the Fair and Remunerative Price (FRP) of sugarcane for sugar season 2025-26 at ₹355/quintal, with a premium of ₹3.46/quintal for each 0.1% increase in recovery over 10.25 percent and a reduction of ₹3.46/quintal for every 0.1% decrease in recovery.