Caste Census: Headline fine but where are the deadline and funds?

How serious are the Union government and the prime minister about conducting the caste census? Expectations that the missed deadline of the 2021 census would be conducted in 2026 — especially after the introduction of the Women’s Reservation Bill and hints of a post-census delimitation exercise — are not borne out by budgetary provisions, with the 2025-26 Budget providing only Rs 575 crore for the census office.

Because the Union cabinet had cleared an amount of Rs 8,200 crore for the 2021 census in December 2019, it is expected that the requirement in 2025-26 would be in the range of Rs 10-12,000 crore. But the current budgetary provision reflects no intention on the part of the government to hold a census.

Also, the exercise would take around 10 months from start to finish. However, as matters stand, it is doubtful if the government has the inclination or the will to conduct the exercise in time to release the data next year.

That is one of the reasons why the Congress party is asking the government to set a deadline. Just as the government got away by passing the Women’s Reservation Bill — which is to come into effect only after the census and the delimitation exercise — without a specific deadline, it is feared that it will attempt to milk the census announcement for the Bihar election without making any attempt to actually conduct the census.

So Rahul Gandhi with 99 seats got his election promise of the #CasteCensus fulfilled by Modi with 239 seats in less than a year 🤣

All credit should go to him. pic.twitter.com/zaYbYLKpd0

— Roshan Rai (@RoshanKrRaii) April 30, 2025

The Congress appears to be in no mood to ease the pressure on the prime minister, though, pointing out that PM Narendra Modi has maintained a Sphinx-like silence on the caste census during the last 11 years, occasionally condemning it as 'divisive' and a 'sin'.

In a press statement, the party pointed out that even if the census begins in November this year, it would be August 2026 by the time responses were cleaned and compiled. The party would like the government to call a special session of Parliament and seek approval for a supplementary budgetary demand to ensure that the census begins as early as possible.

For the 2021 census, the timeline approved by the Union cabinet in December 2019 was the following: phase-1, house listing and housing census from April-September 2020 and population enumeration between 9 February and 28 February 2021. A similar timeline should be fixed for the 2026 census as well, in case the government is serious, the Congress feels.

The party also believes that the Union government must prove its intent by piloting a constitutional amendment to increase reservation beyond 50 per cent as mandated by the Supreme Court. The only state of the Union which allows 69 per cent reservation and enjoys the protection of the Constitution is Tamil Nadu. 

90% of top posts in public sector banks are occupied by upper castes. (acc. To RTI)

That is the monopoly that they've created.
This is the undeclared reservation due to the caste network, which must be ended.#Caste #CasteCensus pic.twitter.com/gT5TDwOY2r

— Vaani ✨ (@depressedsoul_0) May 1, 2025

The 69 per cent reservation cannot be challenged in court because The Tamil Nadu Backward Classes, Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Reservation of Seats in Educational Institutions and of appointment or posts in the Services under the State) Act, 1993 was incorporated in the 9th Schedule of the Constitution in 1994 when P.V. Narasimha Rao was prime minister.

Unless the government extends similar protection to the rest of the country through a constitutional amendment, the Congress believes, it would not be possible to ensure fair representation to OBCs, SCs and STs.

Caste surveys conducted in Bihar, Telangana and Karnataka have by and large indicated the population of Savarna or upper-caste Hindus to be around 15 per cent. Not only do they now enjoy a 10 per cent reservation under the EWS (Economically Weaker Sections) which excludes everyone else already enjoying the benefit of reservations, they also have a disproportionately high share of government jobs. 

Breaching the 50 per cent ceiling will be the real test in states like Bihar, Maharashtra, Haryana, Punjab, Telangana, Karnataka and Gujarat, among others. In short, the Congress wants the Government and the PM to walk the talk on the caste census.