'The Supreme Court stated that once the delimitation plan is approved by Parliament and receives assent of the President, it cannot be undone. Nor can it be modified.'
Rahul Gandhi accuses the government of using the women's reservation bill as a smokescreen to manipulate India's electoral map and diminish representation for certain states.
The BJP and the Opposition have engaged in a war of words over the implementation of the women's reservation bill, which aims to reserve seats for women in legislatures. The bill was defeated in the Lower House, leading to accusations and counter-accusations between the parties.
The next Census' findings will help identify the extent of India's ageing population and vulnerability levels.
The Indian Parliament is expected to extend its budget session to introduce a bill increasing Lok Sabha seats to 816, reserving 273 for women, and amending the women's reservation law.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah criticises the Congress and its allies for the defeat of the Constitution amendment bill aimed at implementing 33 per cent women's quota in legislative bodies before the 2029 Parliamentary polls.
Senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor criticised the government's decision to link women's reservation with the expansion of Parliament, calling delimitation a 'political demonetisation'. He argued that women's reservation should be implemented immediately based on existing parliamentary strength.
'The real fault line in Assam is not Hindu versus Muslim. It is Assamese versus Bengali -- and within that, the specific anxiety about undocumented Bangladeshi settlers claiming land and altering the demographic balance of the state.'
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin has claimed victory for the state after the Constitution Amendment Bill was defeated in the Lok Sabha. Stalin criticised the Centre's handling of the Women's Reservation Bill and delimitation process, accusing the BJP of prioritising political gain over fairness and consultation.
A special dedicated web portal will be launched for self-enumeration during the upcoming Census, which will be available for both phases of the national enumeration exercise, officials said Monday.
What is missing in the BJP's armour is dominance over 50 percent of the electorate: Women. And this is a gamble Modi-Shah have indicated that they are willing to take, explains Saisuresh Sivaswamy.
The Indian government and opposition parties are set for a showdown in Parliament over a Constitution amendment bill concerning the implementation of the women's quota law and the delimitation exercise. The Opposition is concerned about the potential impact of delimitation on the political representation of southern states.
'There will be not less than 31 lakh people working in the census process.'
Opposition leaders have criticised Prime Minister Narendra Modi's address to the nation, calling it politically motivated and a misuse of official platforms during ongoing elections.
'What is going on is the under counting of the migration population in urban areas.' 'It has been going on in the last few censuses.'
Census exercise with caste enumeration will be carried out with the reference date of October 1, 2026, in snow-bound areas like Ladakh and of March 1, 2027, in the rest of the country, the Home Ministry announced on Wednesday.
The census will be carried out with a reference date of October 1, 2026 in snow-bound areas like Ladakh and March 1, 2027 in the rest of the country, the notification said.
While data can empower communities, it reinforces identities, making local politics more caste-centric, with decisions increasingly contested on the grounds of representation.
Such dynamics could lead to shifting alliances and, in the worst case, local governance getting paralysed as each group demands proportional power-sharing, explain Amitabh Kundu and Mehebub Rahaman.
India's decadal census is likely to be further delayed after the budget allocated only Rs 574.80 crore for the exercise, a significant reduction from previous years. The census, originally scheduled for 2021, has been postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and the government has not yet announced a new schedule. The budget allocation suggests that the exercise may not be carried out even after the delay. The upcoming census will be the first digital census, allowing citizens to self-enumerate using a dedicated portal. The exercise will be made compulsory for citizens who wish to self-enumerate, and Aadhaar or mobile numbers will be required. The census will include questions on household demographics, amenities, and economic status.
The UK government has condemned violence in Bangladesh and called for peaceful elections after reports of killings of Hindus and other religious minorities. Concerns were raised in the House of Commons, with calls for UK intervention to protect minorities.
A Hindu businessman and acting editor of a newspaper was fatally shot in Jessore district, Bangladesh, marking the latest in a series of violent incidents against minorities in the country.
The Trump administration is looking at plans to strip some naturalised Americans of their citizenship, the latest in a series of efforts undertaken by President Donald Trump to crack down on immigration.
Firefighters battled for a second day on Thursday to contain a massive inferno that ripped through seven high-rise residential towers in Hong Kong, as the death toll climbed to 65 and over 280 people remained missing in what officials described as the city's worst disaster in 70 years.
'It is for the first time in Independent India that collection of information on caste is being done.'
The Supreme Court has sought the Centre's response on a plea seeking the implementation of the 2023 Nari Shakti Vandan Act, which reserves one-third of seats for women in the Lok Sabha and state assemblies.
Indian films are set to cross A$39 million at the Australian box office in 2025, outperforming local cinema and becoming the third-largest after the US and UK.
The much-delayed decadal census exercise and the work to update the National Population Register (NPR) are likely to begin early 2025 and the data will be declared by 2026, thus changing future census cycles completely, official sources said.
The NDA released its manifesto for the Bihar assembly polls, promising jobs, infrastructure development, and social welfare programs.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi launched a scathing attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi during rallies in Bihar, accusing him of prioritizing votes over genuine governance and alleging that the BJP is controlling the state government through remote control.
Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra accuses the NDA of plotting to steal the Bihar assembly elections, alleging collusion with the Election Commission and voter roll manipulation.
'...yet struggles to convert that human capital into domestic productivity.'
On August 5, 1953, Jawaharlal Nehru sent a strange note to the foreign secretary. It is worth mentioning because it was symptomatic of the lack of knowledge about Western Tibet in India and in South Block in particular, notes Claude Arpi.
If he cannot do it this term by using his bureaucracy and experts from different fields, it will be a tragedy, asserts Ramesh Menon.
The Deepa Thoon controversy, if not allowed to die a natural death, could take the election focus away from the anti-incumbency impacting the DMK and into the secular space. Stalin would love to have it that way, all over again, after the three past elections, points out N Sathiya Moorthy.
The entire census and NPR exercise is likely to cost the government over Rs 12,000 crore, the officials said.
While it is evident that the INDIA bloc has not shut its doors on Nitish Kumar, those within the NDA are hopeful that the JD-U's support base would benefit them as well
The interim budget 2024-24 on Thursday allocated Rs 1,277.80 crore for census, a significant reduction from 2021-22 when Rs 3,768 crore was allocated and an indication that the exercise may not be carried out even after three years of delay.
A decision on enumeration of transgenders in the second phase of Census 2011 would be taken in consultations with experts, a top official said on Friday.
'The general elections in May 2024 may not have any impact on the Census.'
'For the first time in this country, perhaps the first time anywhere, we are going to use backwardness index.' 'It is a fundamental shift in the discourse in the country's social justice.'
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