Cabinet approves Caste enumeration in the upcoming Census

The Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs, chaired by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, has approved the inclusion of caste enumeration in the upcoming national census.

According to Article 246 of the Constitution of India, the Census is a Union subject, listed as entry 69 in the Union List of the Seventh Schedule. Although caste data has been excluded from all census operations since independence, some states have conducted their own surveys. However, these surveys have varied in transparency and methodology.

While Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs) are identified by Parliament through singular national lists per State, the classification of Socially and Economically Backward Classes (SEBCs) and Other Backward Classes (OBCs) is more fragmented.

States and Union Territories maintain separate OBC lists, alongside the Central OBC list, which includes 2,650 communities. In contrast, State-level OBC lists include over 3,651 communities, based on independent analysis.