Decoding findings of caste survey report

Migration The report showed that 3.5% of t

- Anirban Guha Roy and Subhash Pathak

The detailed results of Bihar’s milestone and controversial caste survey were made public on Tuesday during the ongoing winter session of the state assembly. The survey – which successfully counted all castes for the first time since Independence – was completed earlier this year, and its preliminary results were announced in October. The wider, 216-page report was built on these demographic details, with additional information on income, employment, vehicle ownership, housing details, educational qualifications, residential status and laptop ownership.

Income

The report found that 9.4 million families earned less than ₹6,000 per month, accounting for 34.13% of 27.6 million families in the state and adding up to a total population of 130 million. Only 3.9% of the state earned more than ₹50,000 a month.

The survey, tabled by parliamentary affairs minister Vijay Kumar Choudhary on Tuesday, found that 42.93% of scheduled castes (SCs) earned less than ₹6,000 a month – considered by the government as poor. 42.7% of scheduled tribes (ST), 33.58% of extremely backward classes (EBCs), 33.16% of backward castes and 25.09% of general categories were found to be poor.