New Delhi : For the first time since independence, a caste-based census will be conducted in India. This decision was approved in a meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Union Minister for Information and Broadcasting, Ashwini Vaishnaw, shared this announcement on Wednesday.
The caste census will be conducted alongside the regular population census, and the entire process is expected to take about a year, with final figures likely to be available by late 2026 or early 2027. The 2021 census, which was scheduled after the 2011 census, had been postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The upcoming census will differ from previous ones. While the earlier census form had 29 columns, including details like name, address, age, education, employment, migration, and identity of Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs), the new one will include additional columns specifically for caste-based data.
The Census Act of 1948 allowed enumeration of SCs and STs, and it will be amended to accommodate the expanded scope of caste data. According to the 2011 census, India had 1,270 Scheduled Castes and 748 Scheduled Tribes, but data on Other Backward Classes (OBCs) was not included. The upcoming census will mention data on approximately 2,650 OBC categories.
Under the Manmohan Singh government in 2011, a caste census was conducted by the Ministries of Rural Development, Urban Development, and Home Affairs. The central government had allocated Rs. 4,389 crore for this, but the data was never fully released publicly.
No Official Caste Enumeration of OBCs Till 2026
Despite efforts, there has been no comprehensive enumeration of OBCs since 2011. The upcoming census aims to address this gap.