Telangana Expert Group finalises method for measuring caste-based disparities from the caste survey
The Telangana government's Expert Working Group, led by retired Supreme Court judge Justice Sudarshan Reddy, has decided to present as an ordinal ranking, indicating the relative backwardness of each sub-caste while measuring social and economic disparities among the downtrodden.
The Working Group constituted by the government was tasked with studying and interpreting the extensive data collected through the 2024 Social Education Employment Economic Political Caste (SEEEPC) Survey. The group, which met in New Delhi on Thursday (May 22, 2025) for its fourth meeting, decided to finalise the methodology for measuring social and economic disparities across sub-castes in the State using a Composite Backwardness Index (CBI).
The CBI will provide a numerical and objective score for each sub-caste, derived using 43 key parameters from the SEEEPC data. These parameters span seven categories — social status, education, living standards, occupation, income, assets (movable and immovable), and access to banking and finance. The data will be analysed separately for rural and urban areas to study subtle disparities. The approach builds upon the methodology used by the Mandal Commission, which relied on just 11 parameters.
The group has also urged the government to develop a natural language interface powered by Artificial Intelligence to allow researchers to interact with the SEEEPC dataset in aggregate form, without compromising individual privacy. This would enable broader academic and policy analysis based on one of India's most detailed socio-economic datasets, the meeting felt.
After three meetings in Hyderabad, the meeting in New Delhi marked a key milestone as the group reached a consensus on the statistical model and framework of the CBI. The next and final meeting of the Expert Group will be held soon to approve the report and finalise its submission.
The SEEEPC Survey is a pioneering effort covering 3.55 crore individuals across 243 sub-castes. Of the 243 sub-castes enumerated, 73 sub-castes make up 96% of Telangana's population, including ten Scheduled Castes (SCs), seven Scheduled Tribes (STs), 45 Backward Classes (BCs), and eleven Other Castes (OCs). The survey also provided the option of 'No Caste' and 'Others' for those not fitting into existing classifications.
The Expert Group comprises nine full-time members and several special invitees, experts in sociology, economics, caste studies, history, law, policy, statistics, and related domains, all serving in an honorary capacity.
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