The Ministry of Home Affairs on Tuesday said that the Government of India has not enumerated the caste-wise population other than Scheduled Caste (SC) and Scheduled Tribes (ST) in Census since independence.
Members of Parliament have asked questions on the present status of the proposed 2021 Census and asked whether the Government is considering to conduct caste and sub-caste including the synonyms-based census in the proposed census.
Responding to the questions, Minister of State in the Ministry of Home Affairs Nityanand Rai said that the intent of the Government to conduct Census 2021 was notified in the Gazette of India on March 28, 2019.
"Due to the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Census 2021 and the related field activities have been postponed until further orders," he said.
The castes and tribes which are specifically notified as Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs) as per the Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Order 1950 and the Constitution (Scheduled Tribes) Order 1950, as amended from time to time, are enumerated in the Census. The Government of India has not enumerated caste-wise population other than SCs and STs in Census since independence, he replied.
On being asked the details of the funds likely to be spent on the proposed census, he said that the Government has approved Rs 8754.23 crore for the exercise of Census of India 2021.
( With inputs from ANI )
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