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The provisional findings of the Socio-Economic Caste Census 2011 (Rural) were released by the Finance Minister Arun Jaitely, Rural Development Minister Birender Singh and Chief Economic Adviser Arvind Subramanian early in July 2015 in Delhi.
Let us take a look at the objectives of this census, the ministries involved, key findings and analysis of the same.
Background
Government of India’s Rural Development Department commenced a thorough door-to-door Socio-Economic and Caste Census (SECC) in 2011 for both rural and urban India, covering 640 districts. This was conducted to generate information on a range of socio- economic indicators relating to households across the country. This is, in fact, the first caste census to be carried out in independent India as the previous one was conducted in 1932.
Objectives of the SECC 2011
- To rank households based on the socio-economic status, so that state governments can make a list of Below Poverty Line (BPL) families or households.
- To provide authentic information to enable caste-wise population enumeration of the country.
- To provide authentic information regarding the socio-economic conditions, educational status of various castes and sections of society.
- To help policy makers fine tune socio-economic policies based on the data/findings of the report.
The Government ministries and offices involved:
Socio – Economic Caste Census is a comprehensive programme involving:
(a)The Department of Rural Development, Government of India – Responsible for overall co-ordination and census of rural areas.
(b) The Ministry of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation (MoHUPA) – Responsible for census in the urban areas.
(c) Ministry of Home Affairs: Registrar General of India (RGI) and Census Commissioner of India – Responsible for administrative control of caste census.
Key Findings of the SECC 2011 (Rural)
1. First caste census since 1932 – Though, the report is titled Socio-Economic and Caste Census 2011, the sensitive caste-break of the rural population has not been revealed. Of the rural households, 18.46per cent are Scheduled Caste (SC) households, 10.97 are Scheduled Tribe (ST) households, with 12.83per cent households headed by single women and 6.09per cent households with disabled persons.
2. Total number of households – As per the census, total number of rural plus urban households stands at 24.39 crore. Of this, 17.91 crore households are in rural areas and 10.69 crore households are considered deprived. Overall, rural India accounts for 73 per cent of the households, out of which the highest number were in Bihar -90 per cent.
3. Broad definition of deprivation – The census takes a multi-dimensional view of deprivation instead of measuring it in terms of monthly income and expenditure alone. The SECC measures deprivation along seven criteria –
(i) Households with only one room with no solid walls and roof
(ii) Those with no adult member aged between 15-59
(iii) Female-headed households with no adult male aged between 15-59
(iv) Those with differently-abled members and no able-bodied member
(v) SC/ST households
(vi) Those with no literate member above the age of 25, and
(vii) Landless households deriving a major portion of their income from manual casual labour.
48. 50per cent of the total rural households surveyed reflected atleast one of above criteria of deprivation.
3. Income – For 51 per cent of the total rural households, the main source of income is manual casual labour while 30 per cent of households earn through agriculture. In terms of salaried income, 5 per cent of the rural households were in government jobs, 1.11 per cent in public sector jobs and 3.57 per cent in private sector jobs. According to the data, only 8 per cent of rural households earns above Rs.10,000 or more every month, while 74.49 per cent of the households earns Rs.5000 or less. Highest number of such households are in Chhattisgarh -90 per cent.
4. Ownership of House – Overall, 94 per cent of rural households own houses. However, only 17.70 per cent of SCs, 10.50 per cent of STs, and 12.09 per cent of women-headed households, have their own houses.
5. Ownership of Land – The findings show that 56 per cent households are landless; 70 per cent of SC households and 50 per cent of ST households fall in this category. Those who do not own land, often earn income through manual casual labour. The highest number of such households are in Tamil Nadu – 55.80 per cent followed by Bihar – 54.33 per cent.
6. Income Tax and Professional tax – The data revealed that only 4.58per cent of rural households pay income tax. While percentage of SC households paying income tax was 3.49 per cent, ST tax-paying rural households were a mere 3.34 per cent. This statistics remained the same with less than five per cent of rural households paying tax even in rich states such as Maharashtra, Kerala and Tamil Nadu.
7. Education – Data on education revealed that nearly 36 per cent of rural India is illiterate. While 17. 8 per cent have one or more of their family members who got primary education, only 13.5 per cent made it to middle school. Only 3 per cent of the rural households have a family member with a graduate or post graduate degree. The highest proportion of graduates is in the National Capital Territory and Delhi-9.6 per cent and among the states, Kerala tops with 8 per cent.
8. Possession of Assets – The data revealed that 20.69 per cent of the total households in rural India possess 2/3/4-wheeler vehicles or fishing boat and 11 per cent own a refrigerator. Only one per cent of the rural household owns a landline connection but a whopping 68.35 per cent have connection to mobiles as their only phone. That leaves approximately 28 per cent rural households without any phone. In Chhattisgarh, percentage of such households is particularly high at 71 per cent, mainly due to lack of connectivity and mobile towers.
Analysis
On the release of the Socio-Economic Caste Census provisional data, the Finance Minister Arun Jaitely said that it will help in better reach of government policies. Further, the Ministry of Rural Development has said that it will use this SECC data in all its programmes, to reach out to people across categories and provide solutions according to their needs. The government will use the data for better implementation of the ‘Housing for All by 2022’ scheme, MGNREGA, National Food and Security Act, among many others.
One noteworthy feature of SECC 2011 is its multi-dimensional understanding of poverty, which does not consider only the level of income but also takes into account several other parameters. Another important aspect is that these multiple estimates of the level of rural poverty are now available with the state government and may facilitate policy targeting and implementation.
However, there are some who point out that the SECC does not reveal anything new, but only highlights the grim reality of rural India which is already known. The National Sample Survey Officer’s decadal census, which was conducted in 2011 (collating data on condition of houses, asset ownership, SC/ST families, marital and fertility status and education) has already reflected some of the findings of SECC 2011.
The SECC has also gathered caste-related data of rural households. However, the government has not revealed the information of the same and Rural Development Minister Chaudhary Birender Singh said that it was for the DG Census to take a call about the same. There have been strong views for and against disclosure of caste-based break-up of rural households. Those for it insist that the data will help analyse the success of government policies so far and measure whether there has been any improvement. Those against it fear that it will demand a fresh look at the reservation policy and may escalate an already sensitive issue.
To view the official report of the Socio -Economic Caste Census 2011, click on the following link – http://www.secc.gov.in/welcome
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