Caste will also be calculated along with the next census in the country. The government decided in this regard on Wednesday and said that the entire process will be done in a ‘transparent’ manner. This will pave the way for the collection of caste data. Caste data were last collected as part of the 2011 socio-economic caste survey, but its details were never made public. The last comprehensive caste calculation as part of the census was done about a century ago in 1931.
Union Minister Amit Shah, BJP President JP Nadda, the constituents of the Central Government, TDP and JDU as well as the Biju Janata Dal called the verdict as historic, while opposition parties like Congress, SP, RJD also welcomed it and raised the demand to complete the process in the stipulated time.
Giving information about the decision taken by the Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs, Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnav said that under Article 246 of the Constitution, the census is a central subject which is listed at 69 in the Union List in the 7th Schedule. That is, the census comes under the jurisdiction of the central government, but some states have made it a caste calculation in a non-transparent manner, which has created doubts in the society.
Vaishnav said, “Keeping all these circumstances in mind and to ensure that our social fabric does not come under political pressure, it has been decided that caste calculations should be included in the main census instead of conducting a separate survey.” He said that this would ensure that the society will be financially and socially strong and the progress of the country will continue without any obstacle.
Vaishnav and later the government said in its statement that caste was excluded from all census works held since independence. He raised a finger on the Congress -led UPA government to fail to conduct caste census in 2011. It states that a group of ministers were formed in 2010 to discuss the theme of caste census and most political parties recommended caste calculations. Vaishnav said, “Despite this, the previous government opted for survey rather than caste census, which is known as socio-economic and caste census.”
On the other hand, political activist Yogendra Yadav, associated with the Bharat Jalo Abhiyan, said that it was a national democratic coalition government led by Atal Bihari Vajpayee, which failed to conduct caste calculations as part of the 2001 census. However, there is still no clarity on when the next census will take place. The 2021 census delayed due to epidemics. Last year, Union Home Minister Shah had said that the census would be done very soon. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said that we fully support it, but this work should be done within a certain deadline. He said that the government was still opposing caste calculations, but suddenly it was decided to do it, we welcome this step.
Center increased sugarcane FRP
The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs under the chairmanship of Prime Minister Narendra Modi has decided to increase the proper and beneficial price (FRP) of sugarcane at 4.41 percent to Rs 355 per quintal for the upcoming 2025-26 session starting on Wednesday. Sugar FRP for the current 2024-25 session has been fixed at Rs 340 per quintal. The central government fixes FRP, which is a compulsory minimum price. Sugar mills are legally obliged to give sugarcane farmers for their produce.
Shillong-Sildhar Highway Approved
The Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved the construction of a 166.80 km long highway at a total cost of Rs 22,864 crore from Mavalingkhunung in Meghalaya to Panchgram in Assam. According to an official statement, the 144.80 km long part of this highway project is located in Meghalaya and 22 km long in Assam. The decision was taken at the meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
First Published – April 30, 2025 | 10:26 PM IST
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