2011 census of India

15th census
of India
← 2001 9 to 28 February 2011 2024 →
President of India Pratibha Patil receiving the 2011 census report from the Census Commissioner C. Chandramouli
General information
CountryIndia
AuthorityRGCCI
Websitecensusindia.gov.in
Results
Total population1,210,854,977 (Increase 17.70%[1])
Most populous ​stateUttar Pradesh (199,812,341)
Least populous ​stateSikkim (610,577)
Scheduled Castes201,378,372
Scheduled Tribes104,545,716
Postage stamp dedicated to the 2011 census of India

The 2011 census of India or the 15th Indian census was conducted in two phases, house listing and population enumeration. The House listing phase began on 1 April 2010 and involved the collection of information about all buildings. Information for National Population Register (NPR) was also collected in the first phase, which will be used to issue a 12-digit unique identification number to all registered Indian residents by Unique Identification Authority of India. The second population enumeration phase was conducted between 9 and 28 February 2011. Census has been conducted in India since 1872 and 2011 marks the first time biometric information was collected. According to the provisional reports released on 31 March 2011, the Indian population increased to 1.21 billion with a decadal growth of 17.70%.[2] Adult literacy rate increased to 74.04% with a decadal growth of 9.21%. The motto of the census was Our Census, Our Future.

Spread across 28 states[a] and 8 union territories, the census covered 640 districts, 5,924 sub-districts, 7,935 towns and more than 600,000 villages. A total of 2.7 million officials visited households in 7,935 towns and 600,000 villages, classifying the population according to gender, religion, education and occupation.[3] The cost of the exercise was approximately ₹2,200 crore (US$260 million)[4] – this comes to less than US$0.50 per person, well below the estimated world average of US$4.60 per person.[3]

Information on castes was included in the census following demands from several ruling coalition leaders including Lalu Prasad Yadav, and Mulayam Singh Yadav supported by opposition parties Bharatiya Janata Party, Shiromani Akali Dal, Shiv Sena and All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam.[5] Information on caste was last collected during the British Raj in 1931. During the early census, people often exaggerated their caste status to garner social status and it is expected that people downgrade it now in the expectation of gaining government benefits.[6] Earlier, there was speculation that there would be a caste-based census conducted in 2011, the first time in 80 years (last was in 1931), to find the exact population of the "Other Backward Classes" (OBCs) in India.[7][8][9][10] This was later accepted and the Socio Economic and Caste Census 2011 was conducted whose first findings were revealed on 3 July 2015 by Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley.[11] Mandal Commission report of 1980 quoted OBC population at 52%, though National Sample Survey Organisation (NSSO) survey of 2006 quoted OBC population at 41%.[12]

There is only one other instance of a caste count in post-independence India. It was conducted in Kerala in 1968 by the Government of Kerala under E. M. S. Namboodiripad to assess the social and economic backwardness of various lower castes. The census was termed Socio-Economic Survey of 1968 and the results were published in the Gazetteer of Kerala, 1971.[13]

  1. ^ "Decadal Growth censusindia.gov.in". Census India. 31 May 2011. Archived from the original on 3 June 2023. Retrieved 3 June 2023.
  2. ^ "India's population at 5pm today – 127,42,39,769". The Times of India. Press Trust of India. 11 July 2015. Archived from the original on 12 December 2018. Retrieved 16 August 2019.
  3. ^ a b C Chandramouli (23 August 2011). "Census of India 2011 – A Story of Innovations". Press Information Bureau, Government of India. Archived from the original on 25 December 2018. Retrieved 23 August 2011.
  4. ^ "Do we really need the census?". The Economic Times. 26 August 2017. Archived from the original on 25 December 2018. Retrieved 16 August 2019.
  5. ^ "Demand for caste census rocks Lok Sabha". The Times of India. 4 May 2010. Archived from the original on 15 April 2019. Retrieved 16 August 2019.
  6. ^ Blakely, Rhys (10 May 2010). "India to conduct first record of nation's caste system since days of the Raj". The Times. Archived from the original on 28 May 2010.
  7. ^ Jha, Suman K (18 December 2009). "OBC data not in 2011 Census, says Moily". The Indian Express. Archived from the original on 25 December 2018. Retrieved 24 July 2016.
  8. ^ "No data since 1931, will 2011 Census be all-caste inclusive?". The Times of India. TNN. 11 March 2010. Archived from the original on 2 December 2013.
  9. ^ Sachar, Rajindar (28 May 2010). "Caste in Census 2011: Is it necessary?". The Economic Times. Archived from the original on 2 December 2013.
  10. ^ "OBCs form 41% of population: Survey". The Times of India. 1 September 2007. Archived from the original on 23 August 2013.
  11. ^ "Govt releases socio-economic and caste census for better policy-making". Hindustan Times. Press Trust of India. 3 July 2015.
  12. ^ "OBc count: 52 or 41%?". The Times of India. 1 November 2006. Archived from the original on 3 December 2013.
  13. ^ G.O.K dew1971: Appendix XVIII


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