The Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs (CCPA) has approved caste enumeration in the forthcoming population census, Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said. Addressing a Cabinet briefing on Wednesday, Vaishnaw said, “According to Constitution of India, Census is a Union Subject. Some states have conducted surveys, I am repeating the word surveys, to enumerate castes. Some states have done this well, while some others have conducted such surveys purely from a political angle in a non-transparent way. Such surveys have created doubts in the state.”
Vaishnaw said, “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.”
Stressing on caste enumeration, Vaishnaw added, “Under the leadership of Prime Minister Shri , the Cabinet Committee of Political Affairs has decided today, that is 30th April 2025, that caste enumeration should be included in the forthcoming Census. This demonstrates that a government is committed to the values and interests of a society and country. This is unlike in the past when a government had introduced 10% reservation for the economically weaker sections of the society without causing any stress in any section of the society.”
Taking a dig at the Congress, Vaishnaw said Congress and its INDIA alliance partners have used caste census time and again as a political tool and added the previous UPA governments failed to conduct a caste census but held surveys.
“Congress governments always opposed caste census and added that caste was not included in all the census operations conducted since independence,” he said.
Tracing back former Prime Minister Dr ’s tenure, Vaishnaw said, “In 2010, late Dr Manmohan Singh had assured the Lok Sabha that the matter of caste census should be considered in the Cabinet. A group was formed to consider this subject and several parties had recommended the same. Despite this, the Congress government conducted a caste survey not a caste census. Well understood that Congress and its India alliance partners have used caste census only as a political tool.”
Every Census in independent India from 1951 to 2011 has published data on Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, but not on other castes. Before that, every Census until 1931 had data on caste.
Apart from the caste enumeration, the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs approved the proposal for Development, Maintenance and Management of four-lane Greenfield Access Controlled 166.80 km of National Highway No. 06 from Mawlyngkhung (near Shillong) in Meghalaya to Panchgram (near Silchar) in Assam on Hybrid Annuity Mode as an access controlled greenfield High-Speed Corridor at a total capital cost of Rs.22,864 Crore. The project length of 166.80 km lies in Meghalaya (144.80 km) and Assam (22.00 km), according to Press Information Bureau.
The CCEA also decided to fix the fair and remunerative price (FRP) of sugarcane for sugar season 2025-26 (October – September) at Rs.355/quintal for a basic recovery rate of 10.25 per cent, providing a premium of Rs.3.46/qtl for each 0.1% increase in recovery over and above 10.25% and reduction in FRP by Rs.3.46/qtl for every 0.1% decrease in recovery.
