Socio Economic and Caste Census 2011

Context: The Socio Economic and Caste Census (SECC) 2011 collected data on a range of parameters, parts of which were published in 2016. But the data on caste populations, other than the total numbers of SCs and STs, was not made public.

Census exercises in independent India have never collected disaggregated caste data. The most recent publicly available data on caste populations at the national level are from the 1931 Census. The 1931 Census will serve as the baseline for the caste data that the government has now decided to collect as part of the upcoming Census (most likely in 2026).

Socio Economic and Caste Census (SECC) 2011

• The SECC is the most recent data on the populations of individual castes and tribes in India that were collected between 2011 and 2013, an exercise that followed the Census of 2011.
• The SECC data was published in 2016, but only the socio-economic findings were made public. The data on caste populations, other than the total numbers of SCs and STs, was not made public.
• The caste data was handed over to the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment. An expert group led by then-NITI Aayog Vice Chairperson Arvind Panagariya was tasked with its classification — a report which remains unreleased.

Key facts about SECC 2011:

• SECC 2011 was a study of socio-economic status of rural and urban households, and allowed the ranking of households based on predefined parameters.
• It was conducted by the Ministry of Rural Development in rural areas, and the Ministry of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation in urban areas.
• The caste census was under the administrative control of the Ministry of Home Affairs, through the Registrar General of India (RGI) and Census Commissioner of India. 
• All personal information in SECC is open for use by government departments to grant and/ or restrict benefits to households. The data can be used for policy, research, and the implementation of various development programs.

Data collected in SECC 2011

• Disaggregated details of Caste: SECC asked for the respondents’ “Caste/ Tribe Status”, choosing from SC (Code 1), ST (Code 2), Other (Code 3), and No Caste/ Tribe (Code 4), and for the Name of Caste/ Tribe if the respondent belonged to any of the first three categories. SECC clarified that SC can be only among the Hindus, Sikhs and Buddhists, while ST can be from any religion.
• Economic Status: The SECC asked for information on housing/ dwelling, such as ownership and the predominant material of wall and roof (grass/ bamboo/ wood/ mud/ brick/ stone, etc). It also collected information on household amenities such as the source of drinking water and lighting (electricity/ kerosene/ solar etc), latrines, waste water outlets, and availability of a separate kitchen, and on assets such as refrigerator, telephone/ mobile phone, computer, motorised vehicles, ACs, and washing machines.
• In Urban Areas: The SECC sought the names of both father and mother, and main source of income — from begging/ ragpicking to street vending; domestic, construction, shop, transport, etc work; to non-work (pension/ rent/ interest) and no income.
• In Rural Areas: The SECC sought to know if any member in a household belonged to a primitive tribal group, was a legally released bonded labourer, or a manual scavenger. It collected details of the main source of household income — cultivation, manual casual labourer, foraging, begging, etc — and of land ownership and availability of mechanised agricultural equipment, etc.

Also Read: Is the caste Census a useful exercise?