Context:

• The caste based census data was published on October 2, 2023.
• According to this report, Extremely Backward Classes (EBCs) and Other Backward Classes (OBCs) together constitute about 63% of the state's population of 13 crore.
• It is noteworthy that the Bihar Legislature had passed a proposal to conduct caste based census (survey) in the state on 18 February 2019.

 Background -

• The Bihar Legislature unanimously passed a resolution agreeing to the caste census twice – first on February 18, 2019, and then on February 27, 2020.
• On August 23, 2021, an all-party delegation, including the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), went to Delhi to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi and urged him to conduct a caste census in the country.
• However, when the central government later said in the Lok Sabha that as a policy it had decided not to conduct a caste-wise census, the Bihar government issued a notification to conduct the caste survey on its own in the state in June, 2022.
• Subsequently, it allocated ₹ 500 crore from its contingency fund for this survey.
• The two-phase enumeration process was completed in August this year, in which around 2.64 lakh enumerators recorded details of 29 million registered households.
• All 214 castes mentioned in the survey form were allotted different individual codes and the survey was divided into 17 points to find out the socio-economic profile of the population.

 Survey Results -

• According to the report, the extremely backward class is 27.12 percent, extremely backward class is 36.01 percent, scheduled caste is 19.65 percent, scheduled tribe is 1.68 percent and unreserved i.e. upper caste is 15.52 percent.
• Through the above caste survey, the religious basis of the population of Bihar has also been known, such as;
• People following Hinduism in Bihar constitute 81.9% of the total population.
• Whereas people following Muslim religion are 17.7% of the total population.
• Along with this, Christians are 0.05 percent, Buddhists are 0.08 percent, Jains are 0.009 percent.
• Apart from this, there are also 2146 people who do not follow any religion.

 History of caste census-

• Caste census existed in India till the year 1931.
• During the census in 1941, caste based data was compiled but it was not published.
• In the census from 1951 to 2011data of SC and ST was given but data of other castes was not presented.
• In 2011, SECC i.e. Socio-Economic Caste Census based data was compiled and its responsibility was handed over to the Ministry of Rural Development and the Ministry of Urban Development.
• Whereas caste statistics were not published in the year 2016.

 Exam oriented Static facts

Bihar 

• Formation: March 22, 1912
• Capital: Patna
• Chief Minister: Nitish Kumar
• Total Districts: 38
• High Court: Patna
• Westernmost district: Kaimur
• Major Forest Types- deciduous