Karnataka cabinet to take a final view of caste survey before implementation

The next cabinet meeting, scheduled for April 17, is expected to take up the socio-economic survey of Karnataka tabled before the cabinet meeting on Friday. Chief Minister S Siddaramaiah confirmed that the report, referred to commonly as the caste census, was formally presented, along with some recommendations that would be taken up at the next meeting of the cabinet.

“It was tabled today. There are a few recommendations in it. Some ministers have said they need to examine those recommendations. After reviewing them, we will discuss it in the cabinet meeting next Thursday and take a decision,” the chief minister told reporters here.

Advertisement

Kannada and Culture Minister Shivaraj Tangadagi said the state government would study the report in depth before taking up its implementation. A special cabinet meeting will be held next Thursday to discuss the report threadbare to ascertain if it needs any changes, the minister said.

The caste census was carried out in 2015 under the supervision of H Kantharaj, who was part of the Karnataka State Commission for Backward Classes. The current chairperson, Jayaprakash Hegde, has submitted the final report.

Now, the state cabinet has access to the complete report of the caste survey that also contains data of caste-wise population, key characteristics of Scheduled Castes, and Scheduled Tribes, and information detailing key characteristics of other castes and communities, constituency-wise caste data, and an analytical report based on the 2015 data published in 2024.

The rich and in-depth data of socio-educational and economic conditions of non-Scheduled Castes and non-Scheduled Tribes, of SC/ST communities, is available, along with taluk-wise caste and population data, and the data on education, employment, and political representation from secondary sources. In total, 50 volumes of data sets were presented before the Cabinet.

The 2015 caste census, aimed to cover 6.35 crore individuals across the state, had left out 37 lakh people from enumeration.

Law Minister HK Patil told media persons, “The government of Karnataka has taken up caste census on the basis of social, educational and backwardness. Mr Hegde has submitted the report, and that report today was pledged to the cabinet, and the cabinet has discussed it briefly, and we have decided that we should meet again on April 17. We will discuss in detailall aspects and take a final view.”