Modi Government to Start Delayed Census in 2025: Will Caste Data Be Included?

The government of India is planning to carry out the long-delayed decadal census starting next year, 2025. As per the media report, the government will aim to finish the process by 2026. The details, including the possible inclusion of caste data, are still being discussed, and it may be followed by a delimitation exercise, according to sources.

According to the officials, the census report will also update the National Population Register with the help of the data collected during the process starting next year. This will bring changes to future census cycles.

Census 2025 Will Conclude in?

It is interesting to note that Mrityunjay Kumar Narayan's central deputation as India's Registrar General and Census Commissioner was extended from December to August 2026. This increase in tenure suggests that the census process will probably be finished by the end of 2026.

Census 2025: Key Questions You Can Expect

According to officials, the Registrar General of India is consulting with state governments and all parties involved. Around thirty questions have been prepared for the public that will be asked during the census. The questions will cover key details like the number of people living in each household, whether a woman is the head of the family, and whether they have access to a phone, internet, mobile or smartphone, bicycle, scooter or motorcycle, or if they own a car, jeep, or van, among other things.

Political Parties Supporting Caste Census 2025

A caste-based census has been demanded by a number of NDA members, including the JDU, LJP, Apna Dal, and TDP. 

New Proposals for Census 2025

The government has received a number of suggestions regarding the caste census, one of which was to include religious groups in the process. According to reports, another recommendation is to include a column for OBCs in the census alongside the current SC and ST categories. The officials also noted that a suggestion has been made to include the subcategorization of these caste groups in the population calculation.

The Government of India has conducted censuses every ten years since 1951. It was postponed in 2021 because of the COVID-19 epidemic. 

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