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Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Wednesday announced that the upcoming national census will include a caste-based enumeration. This marks a historic shift in India’s data collection process and addresses long-standing demands for updated and detailed caste demographics.
Speaking after a key Union Cabinet meeting, Vaishnaw confirmed that the Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs has approved the inclusion of a caste census in the next nationwide census exercise. “The government has taken a decisive step to include caste data in the national census. This decision reflects our commitment to social justice and data-driven policymaking,” the minister said.
The move comes as the Narendra Modi-led central government continues to evaluate the framework of the long-pending Census, originally scheduled for 2021 but delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The inclusion of caste enumeration has been a major demand from several state governments, social justice advocates, and political parties, particularly in the context of welfare policy planning and affirmative action.
This is the first time since 1931 that caste-based data will be systematically collected as part of India’s official Census. While the Socio-Economic and Caste Census (SECC) was conducted in 2011, its findings were not made fully public, and it was not part of the decennial Census exercise.
With this development, India is poised to gather comprehensive data on caste identities, which could significantly impact future reservation policies, welfare schemes, and socio-economic planning.
The government is expected to release a detailed roadmap and timeline for the implementation of the caste census soon.
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