{
  "id": 1273990,
  "title": "Ponnam seeks separate OBC/SEBC category in Census 2027",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/16/ponnam-seeks-separate-obc-sebc-category-in-census-2027",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-08-16T13:27:48.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The Hindu",
    "slug": "the-hindu",
    "url": "https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/telangana/ponnam-seeks-separate-obcsebc-category-in-census-2027/article71352631.ece"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": null,
  "summary": "Backward Classes Welfare Minister Ponnam Prabhakar has requested Prime Minister Narendra Modi to introduce a separate and distinct OBC/SEBC category in the Census 2027. In a letter to the Prime Minister, Prabhakar emphasized that the absence of such a category could compromise the accuracy and utility of caste enumeration data. He proposed standardized caste coding and a scientific approach to identifying backward communities, noting that caste identity and OBC/SEBC classification are not necessarily the same, as they can differ between Central and State lists. Prabhakar highlighted the challenges posed by the Socio-Economic and Caste Census (SECC) 2011, where variations in spelling, local nomenclature, synonyms, sub-castes, and phonetic differences led to numerous separate caste entries, complicating verification, aggregation, and classification. He urged the Centre to develop a comprehensive State-wise master caste directory and assign unique digital codes to recognized castes and communities. Additionally, Prabhakar suggested preserving both the caste declared by a respondent and its corresponding administrative classification to ensure transparency and traceability of the data. He also cited Telangana’s Socio-Economic, Educational, Employment, Political, and Caste (SEEEPC) Survey 2024-25 as a model for structured caste and socio-economic data collection, emphasizing the importance of such data for policies related to reservation, representation, education, employment, and welfare.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}