2011 Socio Economic and Caste Census

[10][11][12] The rural development ministry has taken a decision to use the SECC data in all its programmes such as MGNREGA, National Food Security Act, and the Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Grameen Kaushalya Yojana.

[23][19] SECC 2011 data will also be used to identify beneficiaries and expand the direct benefit transfer scheme as part of its plans to build upon the JAM (Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana-Aadhaar-Mobile Governance) trinity.

[33] The last BPL census was conducted in India in 2002 and the procedure adopted was to collect information on 13 indicators for every rural household and assign a mark for each of these.

[35][36] In January 2017, Central Government accepted recommendations to use Socio-Economic Caste Census, instead of poverty line, as the main instrument for identification of beneficiaries and transferring of funds for social schemes in rural areas.

[48][49][50] A report of Parliamentary Committee on Rural Development submitted to Lok Sabha Speaker on August 31, 2016 stated that 98.87 per cent data on individuals’ caste and religion is error-free.

[84][85][86] Politicians like M Karunanidhi and Anbumani Ramadoss too demanded to release the caste-based census data that will help to provide the key to justify the existing 69 per cent quota for backward communities in Tamil Nadu.

[97] The OBCs were found to comprise 52% of the country's population by the Mandal Commission report of 1980, a figure which had shrunk to 41% by 2006 when the National Sample Survey Organisation took place.