2022 Bihar caste-based survey

Bihar caste-based Survey, 2022
January 2023 - August 2023
Seal of Bihar
Chief Minister Nitish Kumar inaugurating caste based census in 2023
General information
RegionBihar
AuthorityGovernment of Bihar
Results
Total population130,725,310[1]
Religion
General Communities20,291,679 (15.52%)[2]
Other Backward Classes82,544,450 (63.14%)[2]
Scheduled Castes25,689,820 (19.65%)[2]
Scheduled Tribes2,199,361 (1.68%)[2]

The 2022 Bihar Caste Based Survey was notified by the Government of Bihar on 6 June 2022 by gazette notification after a Supreme Court ruling.[3][4] The survey was conducted in two phases, house listing and caste and economic enumeration. The data collection for the survey began on 7 January 2023 and the data was released on 2 October 2023.[5][1] The responsibility to conduct the survey was given to the General Administration Department (GAD) of the Government of Bihar.[6] The government planned to collect the data digitally by mobile application named Bijaga- Bihar Jaati Adharit Ganana.[7] BELTRON (Bihar State Electronics Development Corporation Ltd.), a Government of Bihar agency provided IT support,[8] hired the services of a Maharashtra-based private firm Trigyn Technologies to develop the mobile app.[9]

The Bihar government spent nearly ₹5 billion rupees in this work from its contingency fund (Bihar Aakasmikta Nidhi),[10] Apart from government employees, Anganwadi workers and Jeevika Didi also worked to complete the survey till given target of May 2023.[11] A portal was prepared for caste-based enumeration in Bihar. The digital work for caste-based enumeration in Bihar was entrusted to a Delhi-based company Trigyn Technologies.[12] The survey counted the 214 castes on Bihar government list.[13] According to the list, 22 were counted in Scheduled Castes, 32 in Scheduled Tribes, 30 in Backward Classes, 113 in Extremely Backward Classes and 7 in Upper Castes.[14][15][16]

Nitish Kumar in conversation with the officials conducting caste based survey, in his ancestral village of Bakhtiarpur on 15 April 2023.
  1. ^ a b "Bihar caste survey data out: What it says". The Indian Express. 2 October 2023.
  2. ^ a b c d "Bihar government releases caste survey data; OBCs, EBCs account for 63 pc of population". ANI News. 2 October 2023. Retrieved 11 November 2023.
  3. ^ Tewary, Amarnath (20 January 2023). "Bihar caste survey : Nitish Kumar welcomes Supreme Court decision". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Archived from the original on 14 February 2023. Retrieved 14 February 2023.
  4. ^ "Let the caste count begin". The Times of India. 20 January 2023. Archived from the original on 20 March 2023. Retrieved 14 February 2023.
  5. ^ "Bihar caste census to begin from January 7". The Hindu. 6 January 2023. ISSN 0971-751X. Archived from the original on 14 February 2023. Retrieved 14 February 2023.
  6. ^ "Second phase of caste census starts in Bihar". 16 April 2023. Archived from the original on 14 June 2023. Retrieved 13 August 2023.
  7. ^ "Bihar caste survey: Officials directed to complete data entry by today evening, says Patna DM". 13 August 2023.
  8. ^ "Pending in SC: Questions on if it is survey or census, privacy issues". 2 October 2023.
  9. ^ "No caste without code—Bihar is counting and writing a new identity politics". 21 April 2023. Archived from the original on 2 May 2023. Retrieved 13 August 2023.
  10. ^ "Bihar caste-based census gets cabinet nod, to be completed by February 2023". 2 June 2022. Archived from the original on 15 February 2023. Retrieved 15 February 2023.
  11. ^ "Caste-based survey to begin in Bihar from Jan 7". India Today. Archived from the original on 14 February 2023. Retrieved 14 February 2023.
  12. ^ "Bihar caste survey: Govt mulls mop-up round for those left out". 12 August 2023.
  13. ^ "Expectations high among villagers, tepid response among urbanites to Bihar's caste-based survey". 15 January 2023. Archived from the original on 14 February 2023. Retrieved 14 February 2023.
  14. ^ "पटना में 100 साल पहले सबसे अधिक अहीर, कुर्मी और बाभन की थी आबादी; इस बार होगी इन 204 जातियों की गणना". Archived from the original on 14 February 2023. Retrieved 14 February 2023.
  15. ^ "Bihar caste census survey: 112 EBC castes under reserved category. See full list".
  16. ^ "Bihar caste survey: The importance of being EBC in state".