Scheduled Castes: Population Data,
Reservation and Representation in Central Government Services
Prelims:
Indian Polity and Governance
Mains:
GS Paper II- Indian Polity and Governance
Current affairs:
The Government informed the Lok Sabha that caste-wise population and educational attendance data for various Scheduled Castes (SCs) are available from Census 2011. It also stated that the overall representation of SCs in Central Government services stood at 17.14% as on 1 January 2026.
Highlights:
1.
Caste-wise Population Data:
i.
Census 2011, conducted by the Office of the Registrar General
& Census Commissioner, India, contains caste-wise population
data for various Scheduled Castes.
ii.
It also provides
caste-wise information on Scheduled Caste populations attending educational
institutions across States and Union Territories.
iii.
The relevant
information is accessible through the Census of India portal.
2.
Reservation in Central Government Services:
i.
As per policy instructions issued by the Department of
Personnel and Training (DoPT), 15% reservation is provided to Scheduled
Castes in posts and services under the Central Government.
ii.
As of 1 January 2026, Scheduled Castes accounted
for 17.14% of the overall workforce in Central Government services.
3.
Data Limitation
i.
The Government clarified that caste-wise
representation within the Scheduled Castes category in Central
Government services is not maintained centrally.
ii.
Thus, while aggregate SC representation is available, its
distribution among individual Scheduled Castes is not centrally maintained.
4.
Reserved Constituencies:
State/UT-wise
information on constituencies reserved for Scheduled Castes in the
Eighteenth Lok Sabha is available on the Election Commission of India
website.
About
Census 2011:
1.
Census 2011 was the 15th Census of India since the
beginning of the census exercise in 1872 and the 7th Census after
Independence.
2.
It was conducted by the Office of the Registrar
General & Census Commissioner, India (ORGI) under the Ministry of Home
Affairs.
3.
The Census is conducted under the legal framework of the Census
Act, 1948 and Census Rules, 1990, along with subsequent amendments.
4.
Census 2011 was carried out in two major stages: Houselisting
and Housing Census, followed by Population Enumeration.
5.
Significance:
The Census
provides basic statistical information on India's demographic, social,
cultural and economic characteristics at local, regional and national
levels and constitutes a major source of population statistics for the country.
Source: PIB - https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=2296291®=48&lang=1