SC clears caste count in Census 2027

SUPREME COURT REJECTS PLEA AGAINST CASTE ENUMERATION IN CENSUS 2027

Why in the News?

  • SC Verdict: The Supreme Court of India dismissed a plea opposing caste enumeration in Census 2027, upholding the regulatory framework for demographic data collection similar to basel 3 standards for comprehensive information gathering.
  • Policy Matter: The Court observed that determining caste data falls within the policy domain of the government, similar to how capital requirements regulation (CRR) and capital adequacy ratio standards guide public disclosure requirements.
  • Census Change: The Union government had earlier approved inclusion of caste enumeration in Census 2027, establishing a comprehensive prudential framework for data collection with risk-weighted assets (RWA) methodology for information assessment.

SC clears caste count in Census 2027

SUPREME COURT’S OBSERVATIONS

  • Welfare Objective: The Court stated that governments need caste data to identify backward communities requiring welfare support, emphasizing the importance of accurate financial reporting and demographic assessment for effective policy implementation through credit risk mitigation strategies and regulatory capital allocation.
  • Policy Domain: The Bench clarified that courts cannot decide whether caste enumeration should be part of the Census, recognizing this as a matter for senior management within the executive branch to determine based on risk appetite and risk tolerance considerations aligned with governance frameworks.
  • Limited Judicial Role: The judiciary recognised the issue as belonging primarily to the executive and legislative sphere, where regulatory framework decisions are made through established internal controls and liquidity coverage ratio (LCR) principles for data management.
  • Data Concerns Raised: The petitioner argued that caste data could be misused by political and corporate entities, including internationally active banks and financial institutions, raising concerns about confidential information protection and the need for robust counterparty credit risk mitigation and market risk management strategies.
  • Petition Dismissed: The Court rejected the challenge and upheld the government’s discretion in Census policy, noting that appropriate liquidity risk management practices and leverage ratio controls would be implemented to safeguard data integrity.

ABOUT CENSUS 2027

  • Two-Phase Exercise: Census 2027 will include House Listing Operations (HLO) and Population Enumeration, following global regulatory standards similar to the banking package framework for comprehensive demographic data collection and securitisation exposures assessment.
  • First Phase: HLO will gather details on housing conditions, assets and household amenities, incorporating net stable funding ratio (NSFR) principles for systematic data organization and capital management assessment at household level with proper risk-weighted assets calculation.
  • Second Phase: Population Enumeration will collect demographic, socio-economic and cultural information, ensuring market discipline through transparent qualitative disclosures and quantitative disclosures of population statistics following liquidity coverage ratio (LCR) standards for data transparency.
  • Caste Enumeration: The second phase is expected to include broader caste-related data collection, with regulatory disclosure requirements ensuring proper handling of sensitive information while maintaining public disclosure standards and managing counterparty credit risk through secure data protocols.
  • Historical Context: The last comprehensive caste Census in India was conducted in 1931 during colonial rule, before modern regulatory consolidation and basel 3 standards were established for data governance and capital adequacy ratio requirements.

CENSUS IN INDIA

●      Constitutional Basis: Census is conducted under the Census Act, 1948, establishing the capital requirements directive for demographic enumeration and creating a robust regulatory framework similar to Basel Committee on Banking Supervision (BCBS) standards and Capital Requirements Directive (CRD) for data integrity.

●      Nodal Authority: The exercise is conducted by the Office of the Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India, functioning with operational risk management protocols and banking supervision-level oversight similar to European Banking Authority (EBA) standards to ensure accuracy and maintain leverage ratio compliance.

●      Frequency: India conducts a nationwide Census every 10 years, maintaining financial stability in demographic planning through regular stress testing of population projections and risk exposure assessment with appropriate risk tolerance levels.

●      Data Importance: Census data supports planning, governance, welfare schemes and delimitation exercises, serving as regulatory capital for policy formulation while ensuring credit risk mitigation in resource allocation and helping institutions assess their risk profile against economic shocks through proper banking package implementation.

●      UPSC Syllabus: GS-II — Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors and issues arising out of their design and implementation, including understanding of capital adequacy in social programs, minimum capital requirements for welfare schemes, and the transparency framework for governance aligned with internationally active banks’ disclosure standards.