Overview

• The Union government announced this month that the upcoming census will include caste enumeration for the first time since 1931.
• Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar called the move a transformative step that will validate aspirations and foster integration rather than division.
• Dhankhar compared caste data collection to an MRI, stressing that robust statistics are vital for drafting precise welfare and reservation policies.
• Prime Minister Narendra Modi described the census as instrumental in bringing marginalized communities into the mainstream.
• Officials expect the new caste data to guide constituency delimitation and long-term development planning.