‘Committed to the values’: Centre announces caste enumeration to be part of next Census

The Union government on Wednesday (Apr 30) announced that caste-based enumeration will be part of the next Census. The decision came following a cabinet committee on political affairs chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

“Under the leadership of our Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, the Cabinet Committee of Political Affairs has decided today (April 30, 2025) that caste enumeration should be included in the forthcoming Census. This demonstrates that our government is committed to the values and interests of our society and the country, like in the past, when our government had introduced 10% reservations for economically weaker sections of society,” Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said during the cabinet briefing on Wednesday.

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Vaishnaw also slammed the Congress and the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) parties for using the caste census as a political tool.

“Congress governments have always opposed caste census. Caste was not included in all the census operations conducted since Independence. In 2010, then Prime Minister late Manmohan Singh ji had assured the Lok Sabha that the matter of caste census should be considered in the Cabinet. A Group of Ministers was formed to consider this subject. Most of the political parties had recommended caste census. Despite this, Congress government decided to conduct merely a survey of caste instead of a caste census. That survey is known as SECC.,” he said.

“It is well understood that Congress and its INDI Alliance partners have used caste census only as a political tool. As per Article 246 of the Constitution of India, the subject Census is listed at 69 in the Union list in the Seventh Schedule. According to Constitution of India, Census is a Union subject. Some States have conducted surveys to enumerate caste, some States have done this while some others have conducted such surveys purely from a political angle in a non-transparent way,” the minister added.

Vaishnaw explained, “Such surveys have created doubts in the society. Considering all these facts, and to ensure that our social fabric is not disturbed by politics, caste enumeration should be transparently included in the Census instead of surveys. This will strengthen the social and economic structure of our society, while the nation continues to progress.”

"The Modi government, committed to social justice, has taken a historic decision today," Home Minister Amit Shah said in an X post in Hindi.

"In the CCPA meeting held today under the leadership of Prime Minister Shri @narendramodi ji, a message of strong commitment towards social equality and rights of every section has been given by deciding to include caste census in the upcoming census," he added.

"The Congress and its allies opposed the caste census for decades while in power and played politics over it while in the opposition. This decision will empower all economically and socially backward classes, promote inclusion and pave new paths for the progress of the deprived."

सामाजिक न्याय के लिए संकल्पित मोदी सरकार ने आज एक ऐतिहासिक निर्णय लिया है।

प्रधानमंत्री श्री @narendramodi जी के नेतृत्व में आज हुई CCPA की बैठक में, आगामी जनगणना में जातिगत गणना को शामिल करने का निर्णय लेकर सामाजिक समानता और हर वर्ग के अधिकारों के प्रति मजबूत प्रतिबद्धता का…

Apart from the inclusion of caste data in the next Census, the centre also announced approval of the Shillong–Silchar four-lane corridor highway that will connect Meghalaya and Assam. The 166.8-kilometre-long highway project will have an outlay of Rs 22,864 crore.

“This highway will provide connectivity to people of Manipur and Mizoram, this project will be considered under hybrid mode,” he said.