The cabinet committees on economic affairs (CCEA) and political affairs (CCPA), chaired by prime minister (PM) Narendra Modi, has decided that caste enumeration will be included in the forthcoming census. The CCEA also approved a higher fair and remunerative price (FRP) for sugarcane for the 2025–26 season and cleared a Rs22,864-crore greenfield highway project connecting Meghalaya and Assam.
Opposition parties, including the Congress, have been demanding a nationwide caste census, making it a major election issue, and some states like Bihar, Telangana and Karnataka have conducted such surveys.
Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw announced that the CCPA approved including caste-based data in the census, set to begin in 2025. This marks a shift, as caste data has not been collected since 1931, except for scheduled castes (SC) and scheduled tribes (ST).
Briefing the media after the CCEA meeting, he says, "Congress governments have always opposed the caste census. In 2010, the late Dr Manmohan Singh said that the matter of caste census should be considered in the Cabinet. A group of ministers was formed to consider this subject. Most of the political parties have recommended a caste census. Despite this, the Congress government decided to conduct a survey of caste or a caste census."
"It is well understood that Congress and its Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) partners have used the caste census only as a political tool. Some states have conducted surveys to enumerate castes. While some states have done this well, some others conducted such surveys only from a political angle in a non-transparent way. Such surveys created doubts in society. To ensure that our social fabric is not disturbed by politics, caste enumeration should be included in the census instead of surveys," the minister added.
Stressing that the party and its INDIA partners have been demanding a nationwide caste census for long, Congress called the forthcoming census exercise by the Modi government as 'better late than never'.
The Cabinet also approved an FRP of Rs355 per quintal for sugarcane for the 2025–26 sugar season (October–September) based on a basic recovery rate of 10.25%, with a premium of Rs3.46 for every 0.1% increase in recovery. In case of lower recovery, the FRP will be reduced by the same amount. However, in a move to protect farmers, the government has assured that mills with less than 9.5% recovery will still pay Rs329.05 per quintal—ensuring no deductions below this threshold.
The FRP marks a 4.41% increase over the current season and is 105.2% above the cost of production, which stands at Rs173 per quintal for 2025–26. This revised price, determined after consultation with state governments and the Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP), will be applicable to all sugarcane purchases by mills from 1 October 2025.
India’s sugar sector sustains the livelihoods of over five crore sugarcane farmers and their dependents, alongside five lakh mill workers and thousands involved in allied activities. As per official data, 99.92% of cane dues amounting to Rs1,11,782 crore were cleared in the 2023–24 season. For the ongoing 2024–25 season, 87% of Rs97,270 crore in dues has been paid so far.
In another key move, the Cabinet approved the development of a 166.8 km, four-lane greenfield access-controlled national highway (NH-06) from Mawlyngkhung near Shillong (Meghalaya) to Panchgram near Silchar (Assam). The project, to be implemented under the Hybrid Annuity Mode, aims to enhance connectivity across the North-East and will cost Rs22,864 crore.
The corridor will traverse through 144.8 km in Meghalaya and 22 km in Assam, passing through critical industrial zones such as Ri Bhoi and the Jaintia Hills, known for cement and coal production. Once completed, it will reduce travel time, decongest existing NH-06, and improve connectivity to Tripura, Mizoram, Manipur and the Barak Valley region.
The project is part of the PM Gati Shakti National Master Plan and aligns with the government’s Atmanirbhar Bharat vision. It is expected to boost regional logistics, tourism and economic development, while providing seamless access from Guwahati to key cities like Shillong, Silchar, Imphal, Aizawl and Agartala.
The corridor is also designed to integrate with key national highways (NH-27, NH-106, NH-206, NH-37), improving inter-state and intra-regional transport infrastructure across the North-East.
