Can the World’s Biggest Census Help Tackle India’s Inequality?

India began the first count of its population in more than a decade at the start of April. The inaugural digital census is expected to take around a year to complete as millions of officials endeavor to survey well over a billion people.

Billed as the world’s largest ever census, the mammoth bureaucratic task will stretch from India’s dense megacities to its small, remote villages. Alongside collecting typical data such as the makeup of households and employment details, the government is attempting for the first time since 1931 to successfully tally citizens’ caste — hierarchical and inherited social groupings that are deeply embedded in Indian culture, and influence access to education, jobs and other opportunities.