Hyderabad: The much-anticipated caste survey in Telangana is finally over. The findings reveal an astonishing 46.25 percent (1,64,09,179 people) of the state’s population belongs to the Backward Class.
The Socio-Economic, Educational, Employment, Political, and Caste (SEEEPC) survey released by state civil supplies minister N Uttam Kumar Reddy on Sunday, February 2 covered 96.9 households in Telangana and surveyed 3,54,77,554 individuals.
According to the survey, the Scheduled Castes (SCs) comprise 17.43 percent (61,84,319) and Scheduled Tribes of 10.45 per cent (37,05,929) of Telangana’s population.
The report would be presented before the state cabinet on February 4 and would be placed before a special session of the legislative assembly for debate.
Telangana caste survey: Key figures
| Category | Population | Percentage |
| Total Population | 3,54,77,554 | 100 |
| Male | 1,79,21,183 | 50.51 |
| Female | 1,75,42,597 | 49.45 |
| Third Gender | 13,774 | 0.04 |
| Backward Class (BC) | 1,64,09,179 | 46.25 |
| Scheduled Castes (SC) | 61,84,319 | 17.43 |
| Scheduled Tribes (ST) | 37,05,929 | 10.45 |
| Muslims | 44,57,012 | 12.56 |
| BC Muslims | 35,76,588 | 10.08 |
| OC Muslims | 8,80,424 | 2.48 |
| Other Castes (OC) | 44,21,115 | 13.31 |
| Total Other Castes | 56,01,539 | 15.79 |
Muslim population in Telangana
Shedding light on the Muslim population in Telangana, the caste survey revealed 44,57,012 people are from the minority community constituting 12.56 percent of the total population. Among them, 35,76,588 belong to the Backward Class (BC) amounting to 10.08 percent while 2.48 percent are Other Castes (OC) with 8,80,424 individuals.
3pc population left out of caste survey
Minister Uttam Kumar informed that 3.1 percent of the population (16 lakh people) were left out of the caste survey as they were either not available or did not show interest in participation.
He informed that 1.03 lakh houses were found locked, 1.68 lakh families were initially hesitant to participate, and 84,137 houses were misclassified due to non-residential usage or occupants being non-Telangana residents.
Telangana govt’s caste survey 98% complete: CM Revanth Reddy
Caste survey overcame hurdles: Minister Uttam
The caste survey was flagged off on November 9, 2024, with Telangana Governor Jishnu Dev Varma becoming its first respondent. Minister Uttam Kumar who heads the cabinet sub-committee for caste survey said that the process was completed while facing multiple challenges including misinformation campaigns that attempted to mislead the public.
The caste survey was conducted with the help of 94,863 enumerators and 9,628 supervisors deployed across 94,261 enumeration blocks. A total of 76,000 data entry operators digitised the information within 36 days.
Drawing parallels with the Bihar caste census, the minister claimed it took just 50 days for Telangana to complete the survey at a much lower cost when compared to the northern state that boasted six months and an expenditure of Rs 500 crore.
Significant step towards welfare policies: Minister
The Telangana caste survey is expected to be a significant step towards data-driven governance and forming welfare policies based on real-time socio-economic data.
Minister Uttam Kumar stated the findings would help restructure Telangana’s welfare programmes to ensure equitable distribution of resources. “Telangana has proven its capability to execute large-scale data-driven policies,” he said.
