Why in the News?

The Central Government has announced that the next Census would take place in 2027 and that it would collect information on castes.

What’s in Today’s Article?

• Upcoming Census (Introduction, Timelines, Process, Significance, Limitations, Suggestions, Way Forward)

Introduction

• India is preparing to conduct its next decennial Census in 2027, with a significant change: the inclusion of caste enumeration.
• This marks the first such effort since 1941 and aims to provide data that could help bring marginalised communities into the policy mainstream.
• However, experts and statisticians argue that to fulfil this ambitious goal, a fundamental restructuring of the current Census design and methodology is essential.

Timeline and Process of the Upcoming Census

• The Census will be conducted in two key phases:

• House-listing Phase (2026): Scheduled between April and September 2026, this phase will record data about dwelling units and household amenities.
• Population Enumeration Phase (2027): This phase will collect demographic, social, and economic data, including caste-related information.

• Caste enumeration will occur during the second phase, which represents a marked departure from earlier Censuses that did not record comprehensive caste data, except for Scheduled Castes (SCs).

Significance of Caste Enumeration

• India last attempted caste enumeration in the 1941 Census, but the data was never processed due to the outbreak of World War II.
• The last usable caste data, therefore, dates back to 1931, making it grossly outdated for modern policy use.
• The Union government, led by PM Modi, has justified this inclusion as a measure to integrate marginalised communities and enhance targeted policymaking.
• However, questions remain whether the current Census framework can deliver on this promise without substantive changes.

Limitations of the Existing Census Framework

• The current format of the Census questionnaire, based on the 2021 draft, only gathers caste data for SCs.
• To make caste enumeration meaningful, experts argue the need to collect data for all castes (excluding Scheduled Tribes), accompanied by adjustments in enumerator training, software tools, and data processing protocols.
• Moreover, key socio-economic indicators like employment, education, age at marriage, and place of birth are currently not cross-tabulated effectively with caste information.
• Existing questions on unemployment, migration, and childbirth suffer from conceptual ambiguity and low data quality, reducing their usefulness for caste-based policy analysis.

Suggested Reforms for Enhanced Data Collection

• Linking Household Data with Demographic Information
  • One major reform proposed is the integration of housing and asset-related questions from the house-listing phase into the population enumeration phase.
  • This change would:

• Reduce data linkage errors arising from a 6-9 month time gap between phases.
• Enable accurate correlation between caste and access to housing, electricity, and sanitation.
• Improve coverage in urban areas, which often suffer from higher omission rates.

• Making the Questionnaire Leaner
  • Several questions have become outdated or redundant due to rapid social and technological change. These include:

• Ownership of mobile phones or computers.
• Household access to bank accounts.
• Streamlining the questionnaire would allow enumerators to focus on collecting accurate responses to more impactful variables.

• Ensuring the Utility of Collected Data
  • Despite the Census providing caste-wise data for socio-economic variables for decades, such data has rarely informed the identification of Most Backward Castes (MBCs) or shaped welfare schemes beyond reservation frameworks.
  • For caste enumeration to be genuinely transformative, the data must be analysed and integrated into broader public policy processes.

Challenges in Collecting Caste Data

• While Census data can be a vital tool, it also faces logistical and methodological hurdles, such as:

• Self-identification inconsistencies across castes and sub-castes.
• Lack of standardised caste lists.
• Enumerator biases and recording errors.

• Nevertheless, in the absence of any other large-scale, uniform data source, the Census remains the most feasible mechanism to gather caste-wise socio-economic data across India.

Way Forward

• To ensure the 2027 Census lives up to its potential, policymakers must:

• Redesign the questionnaire to capture more granular and relevant data.
• Improve enumerator training and digital tools for data collection.
• Integrate caste data with other critical indicators such as literacy, employment, housing, and migration.
• Commit to using the data beyond reservation quotas for broader social and economic reforms.

• If executed thoughtfully, this exercise could provide India with a rich dataset for evidence-based policymaking aimed at inclusive development.