Census 2021 will collect OBC data
New Delhi, Aug 31 : India, the second most populous country with 1.34 billion people, will soon begin a census operation which will for the first time include a count of the backward classes.
Home Minister Rajnath Singh discussed with officials the roadmap for the 16th decennial count, one of the largest administrative exercises, which will involve 25 lakh enumerators and deployment of a new tool-georeferencing - which makes it possible to locate by physical place, an official statement said.
The last census of 2010 counted the population at 1.21 billion, which was made public as a provisional data in 2011.
The 2021 exercise, the largest single source of a variety of statistical information on different characteristics of the people of India, will use improved technological intervention to ensure that the whole data is finalized within three years, the statement said.
The inclusion of OBC count in the census assumes significance against the backdrop of constant clamour for a share in the pie of reservation and the lack of authentic data about various castes and subcastes. The Mandal Commission had put the OBC at 52 per cent of the population.
Nearly 25 lakh enumerators have been trained and engaged for the gigantic exercise, the statement said.
It was in 1872 the first census was conducted in India non-synchronously in different parts.
The meeting reviewed the functioning of the office of Registrar General and Census Commissioner in which Minister of State for Home Kiren Rijiju, Home Secretary Rajiv Gauba and Registrar General of India Sailesh participated.
"Rajnath Singh discussed the roadmap for undertaking the Census in 2021. It was envisaged to collect data on OBC for the first time. Use of maps, georeferencing at the time of house listing is also under consideration," said the statement.
It was emphasised that improvements in design and technological interventions be made to ensure that the Census data was finalized within three years after the Census operation, said the statement. At present, it takes seven to eight years to release the complete data.
For the latest exercise, Rajnath Singh emphasised the need of improvement in civil registration system, especially on registration of births and deaths in remote areas, and strengthening sample registration system for estimating the data like Infant Mortality Rate, Maternal Mortality Ratio and Fertility Rates.
The last Census was conducted under the UPA regime in 2011 in two phases - House Listing and Housing Census (April to September 2010) and Population Enumeration (February 9 to 28 in 2011).
Reports released on March 31, 2011 revealed that the Indian population increased to 1.21 billion with a decadal growth of 17.64 per cent.
The responsibility of conducting the decennial Census, a statutory exercise conducted under the provisions of the Census Act 1945, rests with the Office of the Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India under the Home Ministry.
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Single higher education regulator bill tabled in LS; Oppn flags ‘centralisation,' JPC likely
New Delhi: A bill to set up a 13-member body to regulate institutions of higher education was introduced in the Lok Sabha on Monday.
Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan introduced the Viksit Bharat Shiksha Adhishthan Bill, which seeks to establish an overarching higher education commission along with three councils for regulation, accreditation, and ensuring academic standards for universities and higher education institutions in India.
Meanwhile, the move drew strong opposition, with members warning that it could weaken institutional autonomy and result in excessive centralisation of higher education in India.
The Viksit Bharat Shiksha Adhishthan Bill, 2025, earlier known as the Higher Education Council of India (HECI) Bill, has been introduced in line with the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020.
The proposed legislation seeks to merge three existing regulatory bodies, the University Grants Commission (UGC), the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), and the National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE), into a single unified body called the Viksit Bharat Shiksha Adhishthan.
At present, the UGC regulates non-technical higher education institutions, the AICTE oversees technical education, and the NCTE governs teacher education in India.
Under the proposed framework, the new commission will function through three separate councils responsible for regulation, accreditation, and the maintenance of academic standards across universities and higher education institutions in the country.
According to the Bill, the present challenges faced by higher educational institutions due to the multiplicity of regulators having non-harmonised regulatory approval protocols will be done away with.
The higher education commission, which will be headed by a chairperson appointed by the President of India, will cover all central universities and colleges under it, institutes of national importance functioning under the administrative purview of the Ministry of Education, including IITs, NITs, IISc, IISERs, IIMs, and IIITs.
At present, IITs and IIMs are not regulated by the University Grants Commission (UGC).
Government to refer bill to JPC; Oppn slams it
The government has expressed its willingness to refer it to a joint committee after several members of the Lok Sabha expressed strong opposition to the Bill, stating that they were not given time to study its provisions.
Responding to the opposition, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju said the government intends to refer the Bill to a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) for detailed examination.
Congress Lok Sabha MP Manish Tewari warned that the Bill could result in “excessive centralisation” of higher education. He argued that the proposed law violates the constitutional division of legislative powers between the Union and the states.
According to him, the Bill goes beyond setting academic standards and intrudes into areas such as administration, affiliation, and the establishment and closure of university campuses. These matters, he said, fall under Entry 25 of the Concurrent List and Entry 32 of the State List, which cover the incorporation and regulation of state universities.
Tewari further stated that the Bill suffers from “excessive delegation of legislative power” to the proposed commission. He pointed out that crucial aspects such as accreditation frameworks, degree-granting powers, penalties, institutional autonomy, and even the supersession of institutions are left to be decided through rules, regulations, and executive directions. He argued that this amounts to a violation of established constitutional principles governing delegated legislation.
Under the Bill, the regulatory council will have the power to impose heavy penalties on higher education institutions for violating provisions of the Act or related rules. Penalties range from ₹10 lakh to ₹75 lakh for repeated violations, while establishing an institution without approval from the commission or the state government could attract a fine of up to ₹2 crore.
Concerns were also raised by members from southern states over the Hindi nomenclature of the Bill. N.K. Premachandran, an MP from the Revolutionary Socialist Party representing Kollam in Kerala, said even the name of the Bill was difficult to pronounce.
He pointed out that under Article 348 of the Constitution, the text of any Bill introduced in Parliament must be in English unless Parliament decides otherwise.
DMK MP T.M. Selvaganapathy also criticised the government for naming laws and schemes only in Hindi. He said the Constitution clearly mandates that the nomenclature of a Bill should be in English so that citizens across the country can understand its intent.
Congress MP S. Jothimani from Tamil Nadu’s Karur constituency described the Bill as another attempt to impose Hindi and termed it “an attack on federalism.”
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