The full form of SECC is Socio Economic and Caste Census.

The Socio Economic and Caste Census 2011 (SECC) was conducted for the 2011 Census of India. The Manmohan Singh government approved the Socio Economic and Caste Census 2011 to be carried out after discussion in both houses of Parliament in 2010. The SECC 2011 was conducted in all states and union territories of India and the first findings were revealed on 3 July 2015 by Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley. SECC 2011 is also the first paperless census in India conducted on hand-held electronic devices by the government in 640 districts. The rural development ministry has taken a decision to use the SECC data in all its programmes such as MGNREGA, National Food Security Act, and the Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Grameen Kaushalya Yojana. SECC 2011 was the first caste-based census since 1931 Census of India, and it was launched on 29 June 2011 from the Sankhola village of Hazemara block in West Tripura district.

The Ministry of Rural Development Government of India, commenced the Socio Economic and Caste Census (SECC) 2011, in June 2011 through a comprehensive door to door enumeration across the country. This is the first time such a comprehensive exercise has been carried out for both rural and urban India. It is also expected to generate information on a large number of social and economic indicators relating to households across the country.

The SECC, 2011 has the following three objectives:

• To enable households to be ranked based on their Socio- Economic status. State Governments can then prepare a list of families living below the poverty line
• To make available authentic information that will enable caste-wise population enumeration of the country
• To make available authentic information regarding the socio economic condition, and education status of various castes and sections of the population

The SECC, 2011 will be conducted through a comprehensive programme involving the Ministry of Rural Development, Ministry of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation, The Office of the Registrar General and Census Commissioner, India and the State Governments. The process is as follows:

• Each Collector/District Magistrate will formulate a District/Town Plan and a Communication Plan
• 24 lakh Enumeration Blocks (EB) will be used for the SECC, 2011- each Enumeration Block has roughly 125 households. These are the same Enumeration Blocks that were formed during the Census 2011. The enumerators will be provided copies of the layout maps and Abridged House List prepared during Census 2011. This will ensure complete coverage of the area.
• Enumerators will be trained to conduct the SECC, 2011
• Each Enumerator will be assigned 4 Enumeration Blocks, and every 6 Enumerators will be assigned to one Supervisor
• Enumerators will visit every household identified in the Enumeration Block and canvas the questionnaire. They will also reach out to homeless populations (eg. people living in railway stations, roadsides etc.
• A data entry operator will accompany each Enumerator
• The data will be captured directly on an electronic handheld device (a tablet PC). The hand held device will have the scanned images of the forms filled up for National Population Register (NPR). This will also ensure complete and accurate coverage
• The information (held in the tablet PC) will be read out to the respondent, who will verify it. A printed acknowledgement slip, signed by the Enumerator and Data Entry Operator will be given to the respondent
• Collected data will be verified in the Panchayat
• After all the information is collected from an Enumeration Block, a draft publication list will be prepared for verification
• Within a week of publication of the draft list, the list will be read out at the Gram Sabha in all rural areas
• Any person can file claims/objections and information furnished before designated officers for this purpose. The draft list will be made available at the Gram Panchayat, Block Development Office, Charge Centre and District Collector’s Offices
• The list will also be uploaded on the NIC/State Government/MoRD/MoHUPA websites. This will aid transparency and increase accountability

Draft Publication: After Enumeration & Supervision phase, a draft publication/list is prepared with all information in the survey questionnaire. Information on the persons /household€™s religion and caste/ tribe name is not published. The lists so printed are being published and placed at the following places

1. Panchayat Office
2. Another prominent location in the Panchayat
3. Office of the BDO.

Draft list is made available in the offices of Gram Panchayat, BDO, Charge Centre and District Collector for perusal by any person interested in it. A person in each of these offices has been designated to facilitate the inspection and also to accept the claims and objection from the public. Claims and objection is accepted if sent by post or courier, if the identity of the complainant is legibly mentioned. Anonymous and bulk complaints are not accepted.

The draft list along with the Information regarding placement of the lists is sent to the District Collectors. A notice regarding the draft publication is printed in the local media/newspaper. Within a week of publication of the draft list, the list is read out in the Gram Sabha. All claims/objections raised in the Gram Sabha meeting are recorded and considered as claims/objection and are disposed off by the designated officer like other claims and objections. The list is also uploaded in the NIC/ State Government/ MoRD/ MoHUPA website with provision to take household-wise print out and lodge claims and objections

Claims and Objections: Claims and objections will be limited to the facts displayed in the list only. Claimant or objector may also support claims with documentary evidence. Forms meant for filing objections to the inclusion of name(s) of person(s) in the published draft list and for corrections/ modifications of entries in the draft list and for filing claims for inclusion, in case of omission, are made available to the applicants free of charge on demand at the centre (i.e. office of the Block Development Officer). An acknowledgement slip, which is available at the bottom of the respective forms, shall be given to all applicants along with details of date, time and place of the hearing of these claims and objections. This date should not exceed 7 days from the date of receipt of forms. For this purpose the State Government will notify officers who will be competent to take a decision on claims and objections. A Summary hearing will be conducted by Officers appointed by the State Government. Records of the summary hearing will be uploaded onto the database through a system provided by BEL. A copy of the order is given to the person concerned. Persons not satisfied with their decision have a right to appeal at the district level. The State Government will appoint officers at the District level competent to take decisions at this level. An acknowledgement slip should be given to the applicant with details of date, time and place of the hearing of these claims and objections. This date should not exceed 7 days of receipt of forms. Period for filing claims and objections would be 21 days from the day of publication of the draft list.

Final List Publication: At the end of the 31st day from the publishing of the draft report, the final lists are being published. The Final List are sent to

1. All Panchayats
2. All Block Offices
3. Other Offices of the State Government that are considered appropriate