Context

The Odisha government began it’s first-ever survey of social and educational conditions of people belonging to 208 backward castes.

About Population Census

• Population census is a Union subject.
• The Government of India has been conducting a decennial census continuously since 1951 as per the provisions of the Census Act, 1948.
• India’s decennial census was supposed to be conducted in 2021, however, it has been inordinately delayed.
• Due to this delay, states like Bihar and Odisha have stepped forward to carry out their own census exercises. 

What is the Exact Population of the OBCs?

• When the Mandal Commission wrote its report in 1979-80, it relied on the 1931 census data to estimate the OBC population and came up with the number of 52%. 
• That report itself is now more than four decades old but the magic number of 52%, which was a guesstimate based on the 1931 census, gets thrown around whenever the OBC population is discussed.