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Source: The post is based on the article “Caste-based survey of 12 cr. people in Bihar begins” published in The Hindu on 7th January 2023
What is the News?
The Bihar government is set to start the first phase of a caste-based survey.
What is a Caste based Census?
How is the Bihar Government doing the caste-based survey?
The Bihar Government is doing the census in two phases. Data and information would be collected digitally through a mobile application.
The app will have questions about the place, caste, number of people in the family, their profession and annual income. The details of even family members living outside the State would be collected.
Why is Bihar Government doing the caste-based survey?
Updated caste-based data would help the Government to implement targeted welfare schemes for socially and economically disadvantaged groups.
Moreover, in the absence of data pertaining to non-SCs and non-STs, the Bihar government says, it’s been difficult to estimate the population of Other Backward Classes (OBCs) correctly.
In the 1931 census, the population of OBCs was estimated to be 52%. The government conducted a socio-economic and caste census in 2011, but caste data was not released.
Those demanding a caste census also say that reservation to the SCs and STs was given based on their population but not in the case of the OBCs. They say the quota needs to be revised and a caste census is needed for that.
