Page 4 - Census

RSS backs caste census for welfare, opposes its use for electoral purposes

Ever since the Opposition INDIA bloc demanded a caste census, the BJP leadership had taken to talk of welfare of the four 'castes', namely, women, the poor, farmers, and youth

'Domain of governance': SC refuses to entertain plea for caste census

The Supreme Court on Monday refused to entertain a plea seeking direction to the Centre for conducting a socio-economic caste census for the welfare of backward and other marginalised sections, saying the issue falls in the domain of governance. A bench of Justices Hrishikesh Roy and SVN Bhatti allowed the petitioner P Prasad Naidu to withdraw his plea in which he had sought a direction for expediting the enumeration of data for census. "What can be done about this? The issue is in the domain of governance. It is a policy matter," the bench told senior advocate Ravishankar Jandyala and advocate Sravan Kumar Karanam, appearing for the petitioner. Jandyala submitted that several countries have done it but India is yet to do. "The Indra Sawhney judgement of 1992 (Mandal Commission verdict) has said that this census has to be done periodically," he contended. The bench told him it was dismissing the petition as the court could not interfere in the issue. Sensing the mood of the court

'Such clarity on census delayed for over three yrs': Cong takes dig at Shah

The Congress on Sunday took a swipe at Home Minister Amit Shah for his remarks that an announcement on a census would be made once it was finalised, saying "such clarity on a census that has already been delayed for over three years". The opposition party's remarks came a day after Shah said the decadal census exercise would be carried out at an appropriate time and an announcement made when it was decided. Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh said, "The self-styled Chanakya has just dropped a bombshell. Yesterday, in Chhattisgarh, he let out a top secret. He said that the census will be carried out at an appropriate time and that an announcement will be made for it when it is decided." "Wow. Such clarity on a census that has already been delayed for over 3 years!" Ramesh said in a post on X. The house listing phase of the census and the exercise to update the National Population Register were scheduled to be carried out across the country from April 1

Caste census required for 90% people sitting out of system: Rahul Gandhi

Pressing the demand for a nationwide "caste census", Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Saturday said 90 per cent people of the country are sitting out of the system and the step would be is necessary for them. Addressing the "Samvidhan Samman Sammelan" here, Gandhi said, "90 per cent people are sitting out of the system. They have skill, knowledge but no connections (with the system). That is why we have raised the demand for a caste census." "For the Congress, the caste census is the foundation of policy making," the leader of opposition in the Lok Sabha said.

Census to happen at right time; Article 370 will never be restored: Shah

The decadal census will be carried out at an appropriate time and it will be announced when it is decided, Union Home Minister Amit Shah said on Saturday. The house listing phase of the census and the exercise to update the National Population Register (NPR) were scheduled to be carried out across the country from April 1 to September 30, 2020 but it was postponed due to the COVID-19 outbreak. "The census will be carried out at an appropriate time. We will make an announcement for it when it is decided," Shah said at a press conference here replying to a question on it. The home minister is on a three-day visit to Chhattisgarh during which he discussed the Naxal problem with top civil and security officials of Maoists-hit states on Saturday. The census operation continues to be on hold and the government has not yet announced the new schedule. Several opposition parties have been demanding a caste census. However, so far there has been no announcement by the government on this ..

Can Modi 3.0 beat the 3C trap of caste, coalition and Constitution?

Modi govt preparing for Census leads us to examine a new reality, marked by 3 Cs - caste, coalition and Constitution. The BJP machine could take all 3 in its stride, but this election has changed that

Census likely to begin in Sept as govt looks to plug data gaps: Report

It will take about 18 months to complete the new survey after it begins next month, two government sources directly involved in the matter said

Strengthening statistics: Why India needs periodic and reliable data

It is important for policymakers in a rapidly changing economy to have timely and accurate data for making effective policy interventions

Govt may expand census to include more questions around caste: Reports

Officials are now debating whether to add a third caste category, called "other backward class" to the questionnaire or whether to conduct a separate caste survey

Eighth Economic Census likely next year; data for seventh awaited

Centre asks states, UTs to submit funds and manpower requirements to start work on 8th Census

Elephant census delayed in northeast; final count likely in June 2025

India will have to wait until June next year for the results of the latest elephant census, as the population estimation has been delayed in some northeastern states, sources said. Wild elephants are found in forested, hilly tracts across four regions of India: the foothills of the Himalayas in the north, the northeastern states, east-central India, and the Western and Eastern Ghats in the southern parts of the country. A source told PTI that data collection and analysis from the northeast have not yet been completed. The primary reasons for the delay in the region are "heavy monsoon rains, floods and the limited capacity" of the forest staff, the sources added. The entire process involves creating shapefiles, capacity building, data collection, and data processing. As a result, the numbers from the latest elephant estimation exercise will only be available by June next year, they said. SM Sahai, the Chief Wildlife Warden of Meghalaya, told PTI that the elephant population estima

Oppn demands for caste census, tax on rich, GST removal on insurance in RS

Opposition members in Rajya Sabha on Wednesday pressed for a caste census, imposition of super rich tax, and removal of GST levy on life and medical insurance premiums. Participating in a discussion on the Jammu and Kashmir Appropriation No. 3 Bill, 2024 in the Upper House, Raghav Chadha of the Aam Aadmi Party expressed happiness at the indexation benefit being "partially restored". However, he said, this poses a "huge question mark" over the central government's tax policies. "... How confused is our country's taxation policy. On 23 July 2024, you say that you are taking away the indexation benefit from investors and exactly after two weeks, you say that you are not taking it away but restoring it. This shows that when you, without thinking, not acting on the advice of an economist, if you devise the Budget on the advice of those who do not have economic knowledge, these kind of flip flops will be witnessed," he said. Taking away indexation from an Indian investor is equivalent to

Paswan backs caste census but says if made public, data will create divide

Union minister and LJP (Ram Vilas) chief Chirag Paswan has pitched for a nationwide caste census but warned against making the figures public as it will lead to "division" in society, and said no discussion within the ruling NDA has taken place so far over simultaneous polls and the Uniform Civil Code, both part of the BJP's manifesto. In an interaction with PTI editors, he flagged concerns about the UCC and said he cannot take a position unless a draft on it is placed before him. He, however, asserted that his Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) strongly supports the concept of simultaneous polls. Asked about his views on the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) and if he supports it, Paswan said, "We don't have a draft for it yet. Until unless we go through that draft, because there are a lot of concerns... India is a country of diversities." Be it language, culture or lifestyle, everything is different in different regions of the country, he said, wondering "how can you bring everyone under one

Overdue Census

The delay is disturbing

No census in 2021, at least 140 mn deprived of NFSA benefits: Congress

The Congress on Monday said Prime Minister Narendra Modi has to tell the country soon when the updated census will be conducted and demanded that it must also provide data on the population of communities categorised as OBCs to give "true meaning" to social justice enshrined in the Constitution. Congress leader Jairam Ramesh said a comprehensive census essential for socioeconomic development is carried out by the Union government every 10 years. The last census was to be completed in 2021. "But Mr Modi didn't get it done. One immediate consequence of not having census 2021 conducted is that at least 14 crore Indians are being deprived of benefits under the National Food Security Act, 2013, repackaged as PM Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana," he said. "The 'one-third' prime minister has to tell the country soon when the updated census will be conducted," the Congress general secretary said. The decennial Census has since 1951 provided data on the population of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled

Empower our cities

As the economy grows, city governance must become a central part of our long-term development strategy

India plans economic data improvements, long-delayed population census

The Statistics Ministry has made a number of proposals that have been discussed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi's office in the past month, the people said

Census, NPR unlikely in 2024 too as only Rs 1,277 cr allocated in budget

The interim budget 2024-24 on Thursday allocated Rs 1,277.80 crore for census, a significant reduction from 2021-22 when Rs 3,768 crore was allocated and an indication that the exercise may not be carried out even after three years of delay. 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 a cost of 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 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. Officials said since general elections are due this year, the census is unlikely to be carried out in 2024. According to the interim budget, Rs 1277.80 crore has been allocated for census surveys and statistics (Rs .

Telangana govt to take up caste census soon, says CM Revanth Reddy

Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy on Saturday said the state government would soon take up caste census as promised to people before elections. Reddy, who held a meeting on issues concerning minorities, backward classes and tribal welfare departments, directed officials to take steps for carrying out the caste census, an official release said. The CM also asked officials to prepare budget estimates for implementing 'Kalyanamastu' scheme of providing one tola gold in addition to financial assistance of Rs one lakh to girls from BPL families at the time of their marriage. He directed officials to prepare estimates on the funds required for all types of government welfare hostels being run by the government. He said funds would be released in 'green channel' (expeditious release of funds) as per the estimated expenditure. He instructed officials to furnish details on the government residential schools which are being run in rented buildings and also to identify lands for ...

World population up 75 million this year, topping 8 billion by January 1

The world population grew by 75 million people over the past year and on New Year's Day it will stand at more than 8 billion people, according to figures released by the US Census Bureau on Thursday. The worldwide growth rate in the past year was just under 1 per cent. At the start of 2024, 4.3 births and two deaths are expected worldwide every second, according to the Census Bureau figures. The growth rate for the United States in the past year was 0.53 per cent, about half the worldwide figure. The US added 1.7 million people and will have a population on New Year's Day of 335.8 million people. If the current pace continues through the end of the decade, the 2020s could be the slowest-growing decade in US history, yielding a growth rate of less than 4 per cent over the 10-year-period from 2020 to 2030, said William Frey, a demographer at The Brookings Institution. The slowest-growing decade currently was in the aftermath of the Great Depression in the 1930s, when the growth rate