Union Government warns States to complete Socio Economic and Caste Census (SECC) before 15 March 2015

Union government has warned States to complete Socio Economic and Caste Census (SECC) before 15 March 2015.
If states fail to complete the exercise before 15th March, the central assistance to states for building rural houses and welfare pensions will be blocked.
In this regard, Union Ministry of Rural Development has issued a note which strictly mentions that for year 2015-16 and onwards, SECC data will be the base for selecting the beneficiaries for the Indira Awas Yojana (IAY) and the National Social Assistance Programme (NSAP).
If states failed to select the beneficiaries from this data base will not receive financial assistance.
Background

• Union government’s tough decision came in the wake of a PIL petition filed by human rights’ body People’s Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL).
• In the PIL petition PUCL had alleged that non-completion of SECC by states and UTs is the main reason for delay in implementation of National Food Security Act (NFSA), 2013.
• It should be noted that some states even have failed to publish the draft list of the census.

About Socio Economic and Caste Census (SECC)

The SECC was started in June 2011 through a comprehensive door-to-door enumeration across the country.
It was started to

• Generate authentic information on a large number of social and economic indicators relating to households across the country to rank them on their Socio- Economic status.
• Enable caste-wise population enumeration of the country and their socio economic condition. It also included education status of various castes and sections of the population.

It was conducted by the Registrar General of India, Union Ministry of Rural development and Union Ministry of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation (HUPA).

Month: Current Affairs - February, 2015