-The Hindu Error is not in data but in government’s judgement: RJD MP Manoj K. Jha The Union government last week told the Supreme Court that the caste data enumerated in the Socio-Economic Caste Census (SECC) of 2011 was “unusable”, but in 2016, the Registrar-General and Census Commissioner of India had informed the Standing Committee on Rural Development that 98.87% of the data on individual caste and religion was “error free”. In its...

-The Hindu A precise caste census is difficult, but the data will be useful to drive social policy The idea of a national caste census might be abhorrent when the stated policy is to strive for a casteless society, but it will be useful to establish statistical justification for preserving caste-based affirmative action programmes. It may also be a legal imperative, considering that courts want ‘quantifiable data’ to support the existing levels...

-Hindustan Times The Centre also told the court that it is also against collecting any information on castes or backward classes, other than Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, during the upcoming population census in 2022 The caste census conducted in 2011 is “unusable” for any official purpose on account of grave “inaccuracies” in its data, the Union government has told the Supreme Court, while adding it is also against collecting any information...

-The Hindu “It has suffered, and will suffer, both on account of completeness and accuracy of the data,” an affidavit filed by the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment in the Supreme Court said. The government has made it clear in the Supreme Court that a caste census of the Backward Classes is “administratively difficult and cumbersome”. The Centre reasoned that even when the census of castes were taken in the pre-Independence period,...

-Hindustan Times The ex gratia will also be given to kin of Covid-19 victims who were involved in relief operations or associated with “preparedness activities”, the court was told. The Central government on Wednesday informed the Supreme Court that families of those who died of coronavirus disease (Covid-19) will receive an ex gratia of ₹50,000 from the state disaster response fund (SDRF). The ex gratia will also be given to kin of...