Census

'Caste data in census won't need legal changes under current framework'

The over 70-year-old Census Act will not require changes to allow enumerators carrying out census exercise to seek details of caste from the population, officials said. They said the 1948 law, which was last amended in 1994, authorises the central government to seek details from the populace as may be mentioned in the form. All castes were enumerated during census exercises carried out in British India between 1881 and 1931. But at the time of the first census of independent India in 1951, the then government decided not to count castes any more except for scheduled castes and tribes. A decade later in 1961, the central government asked states to conduct their own surveys and prepare state-specific lists of OBCs if they wished so. Over six decades later now and after demands from several quarters and various parties, the government decided last month to include caste enumeration in the next nationwide census. Citing section 8 of the law, officials pointed out that a census officer

Will 2026 Census-based delimitation shrink South India's voice in LS?

With delimitation tied to the 2026 Census, southern states risk losing seats despite leading in population control and contributing heavily to the economy

Caste complications: A caste census will not address basic issues

Given that the government has decided in favour of caste enumeration in the next census, its implications are worth discussing here

Govt announces to enumerate castes as well in the upcoming Census exercise

Parties and leaders across the political spectrum welcome the decision

Caste census decision a victory for 'PDA' and INDIA bloc: Akhilesh Yadav

Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav on Wednesday termed the Centre's decision to conduct a caste-based census as a "100 per cent victory" for the united strength of the PDA (Backwards, Dalits and minorities) and the INDIA bloc. Reacting to the announcement on social media platform X, the SP chief said, "The decision to conduct a caste census is a 100 per cent victory of the unity of 90 per cent PDA. Due to our collective pressure, the BJP government has been forced to take this decision. This is a crucial step forward in the PDA's fight for social justice." "This is a warning to the BJP government keep its electoral manipulation away from the caste census. Only an honest census can ensure that every caste receives its rightful share based on its population, which has so far been denied by the dominant forces," he said. Calling the move the beginning of a transformative movement, the former Uttar Pradesh chief minister added, "This is the first stage of a positive democratic ..

13 parties to urge Centre to defer Manipur delimitation over Census errors

Representatives of at least 13 political parties met in Imphal on Tuesday, and resolved to urge the Centre to defer the delimitation exercise in the state directed by the Supreme Court until the "errors" in the 2001 Census are rectified. The BJP and the Congress stayed away from the meeting, which was attended by representatives of NPP, JD(U), CPI(M), RPI (Athawale), Manipur Peoples' Party, CPI, TMC, AAP, NCP(SCP), Shiv Sena, BSP, Forward Bloc, and RSP. The Supreme Court on March 17 granted three months to the Centre for carrying out the delimitation exercise in Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland and Manipur. "Leaders of various political parties participated in the discussions, aimed at addressing concerns and formulating a collective approach regarding the upcoming delimitation process. Based on that, it was resolved that no delimitation be conducted till the errors in the 2001 Census are rectified," NPP state president Y Joykumar told reporters after the meeting. "It was also resolved

Release interim data on 7th Economic Census, House panel tells MoSPI

Data collection for the 7th Economic Census began in 2019 and took two years to complete owing to Covid

Telangana govt ropes in Thomas Piketty to analyse caste census data

Piketty, 53, is a professor of economics at the Paris School of Economics and the London School of Economics and is known for his work on income and wealth inequality

Delimitation promotes 'Hindia', non-Hindi states at risk: Kamal Haasan

MNM President Kamal Haasan accuses Centre of trying to consolidate power in Hindi-speaking states under the guise of delimitation

Unwarranted delay in conducting Census hurting many social policies: Cong

The Congress on Thursday hit out at the Modi government for not getting the decadal Census done, saying this "unwarranted delay" is hurting many social policies and programmes. Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh shared a media report on X which said that with the decadal Census exercise pending since 2021 and unlikely to be conducted this year, at least two other key reports on births and deaths in the country have not been released by the Union Home Ministry for the past five years. "This unwarranted delay in conducting the decadal Census, due in 2021 but still not conducted, is hurting many social policies and programmes - including reservations for scheduled castes and scheduled tribes, and food security entitlements," Ramesh said on X. The Congress on Saturday had said it is "highly disappointing" that Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman's Budget speech made no mention of releasing funds for the decadal population census. The party had pointed out

Census, NPR unlikely in 2025 too as only Rs 574 crore allocated in Budget

If budgetary proposals are anything to go by, the decadal census is unlikely to be carried out in 2025 as well with a meagre Rs 574.80 crore allocated for the exercise in the Budget presented on Saturday. A meeting of the Union Cabinet on December 24, 2019 had approved the proposal for conducting census of India 2021 at a cost of Rs 8,754.23 crore and updating the National Population Register (NPR) at Rs 3,941.35 crore. The house listing phase of the census and the exercise to update the NPR were scheduled to be carried out across the country from April 1 to September 30, 2020 but were postponed due to the COVID-19 outbreak. The census operation continues to be on hold and the government has not yet announced the new schedule. The Budget 2025-26, presented by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday, allocated Rs 574.80 crore for Census, Surveys and Statistics/Registrar General of India (RGI), a significant reduction from the Budget 2021-22 when Rs 3,768 crore was allocated,

Govt cuts Census budget allocation by half, RGI to seek additional funds

The Union Home Ministry has halved the Census and Statistics budget for 2024-25, with provisions for the Registrar General of India to request additional funds for the delayed census

As Census looms after years of delay, questions over expenditure persist

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is also expected to gather up the unspent capex and allocation for the current fiscal to push for a massive spending effort in FY26

Making sense of the census: Do young marketing execs grasp its importance?

Census 2026 (as it may be called) will help us get a better picture and spur many more interesting questions to ask in marketing interviews

Iraq launches its first nationwide census in nearly four decades

The last nationwide census was held in 1987 in Iraq, followed by a census in 1997 which did not include certain Kurdish regions

Caste census, removing 50% quota cap central to vision for country: Cong

The Congress on Saturday asserted that a nationwide caste survey and the lifting of the Supreme Court's "arbitrary ceiling" of 50 per cent on reservations for Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, and Other Backward Classes are central to its vision for the country. Congress general secretary in-charge, communications, Jairam Ramesh said in a post on X that the party's government in Telangana will begin its caste survey on Saturday. He said 80,000 enumerators will be going door to door over the next few weeks, covering over 1.17 crore households across 33 districts. This is the first time a caste-based survey is being conducted by the government in Telangana since 1931, Ramesh said. "It is a historic, revolutionary moment -- one that is a realisation of the Telangana Movement's aspirations for the state and a fulfillment of one of the key ideals of Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar's Constitution," the Congress general secretary said. It is also, as Rahul Gandhi noted in Hyderabad earlier this

Population growth to fertility rate: What census 2025 might reveal

The census would set the stage for the delimitation exercise and introduction of the Women Reservation Act

Census to begin in 2025? Know latest updates here

After four-year delay, Centre may commence population Census in 2025

The Opposition has been criticising the Narendra Modi-led coalition government for delaying the decadal Census programme, while demanding a caste-based Census

Govt launches 21st livestock census, $25 mn fund for animal health security

Union minister Rajiv Ranjan Singh on Friday launched 21st Livestock Census which will be conducted till February next year at a cost of Rs 200 crore and said the availability of precise data will help the government frame policies for ensuring health security of animals and achieve higher growth in the sector. Singh, who is Minister of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying, also launched a USD 25 million 'Pandemic Fund Project' to strengthen animal health security in India for pandemic preparedness and response. Addressing an event, the minister said that this livestock census should be undertaken with full honesty and sincerity. He asked his ministry officials to monitor this census operation regularly. "The livestock census operation will be conducted with a budget of Rs 200 crore. The cost will be entirely funded by the central government," he told reporters. The report will come next year. The 21st Livestock Census, to be conducted during October 2024-February 2025 period, w