New Delhi, Apr 30 (PTI) The Population Foundation of India Wednesday commended the government for deciding to include caste enumeration in the next census exercise, saying it would help design truly equitable and inclusive policies but stressed that meaningful use of the data would be the key.

Poonam Muttreja, the executive director of the NGO working to promote effective policies and programmes in population stabilisation, reproductive health, and gender equity, pointed out that inequalities in India are deeply shaped not just by gender, but also by "where a woman lives, her caste, community, and income level".

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"Hence, a caste census is critical to uncover intersectional disparities," she told PTI.

Welcoming the government's decision, Muttreja stressed that the real effectiveness of caste enumeration would lean heavily on how meaningfully the data is used.

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Structural inequalities define access to essential services, ranging from education and nutrition to healthcare and social protection, she said, adding that the absence of caste-disaggregated data has for long limited the effectiveness of social welfare programmes.

"Without this data, we cannot design policies that are truly equitable and inclusive."

A caste census is a survey conducted to collect detailed data on the various castes within a population, typically aimed at understanding the socio-economic conditions and demographic distribution of different caste groups.

In a major decision, the government on Wednesday announced that caste enumeration would be included in the forthcoming census exercise in a "transparent" manner and slammed the opposition parties for using caste survey as a "political tool".

Opposition parties, including the Congress, have been demanding a nationwide caste census, making it a major election issue, and some states like Bihar, Telangana and Karnataka have conducted such surveys.

Announcing the decision taken by the Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs, Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said the census comes under the purview of the Centre, but some states have done caste enumeration in the name of surveys "non-transparently" which has created doubts in the society.

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