that Democrats countered with changes to

The official count of the country’s people is used to allocate many of India’s welfare programs and other policies.It could also pave the way for redrawing the political landscape of India as seats are added to the lower house of Parliament and state legislatures to represent a larger population.

Under the 2023 Women’s Reservation Bill, a third of those seats will be set aside for women.The Indian census is said to be the largest peacetime mobilization in the world.Almost 2.7 million people were hired to implement the 2011 census, visiting more than 240 million households.

The Home Ministry said the new census will be carried out in two phases and conclude by March 1, 2027. The government will spell out the details and schedule of the exercise later this month.They’ll collect information about houses and their occupants, such as sex, age, marital status, religion, mother tongue, language, literacy and economic activity — as well as caste.

The next census will be the first to consider the caste status of most Indians.

Caste is an ancient system of social hierarchy in India and is critical to Indian life and politics. There are hundreds of caste groups based on occupation and economic status across India, particularly among Hindus, but the country has limited, or outdated data on how many people belong to them.“It’s very much a change,” said North Dakota Sen. Kevin Cramer. Thune has “already made a lot of people happier by the listening part,” he said.

One happier senator is Florida Sen. Rick Scott, who sparred openly with McConnell and ran against Thune to replace him. Scott, who criticizes the bill as not doing enough to cut federal spending, has also met with the new leader.“I’d be very surprised if anybody doesn’t believe he’s receptive to their ideas,” Scott said of Thune. And when people feel heard, Scott said, “there’s a greater chance they will go along with something.”

Thune has also carefully navigated his relationship with the president, after sharply criticizing Trump in 2020 for trying to overturn his election defeat.Trump declined to endorse Thune’s reelection bid two years later. Thune endorsed South Carolina Sen.