Amaravati, Nov 24 (PTI) The Andhra Pradesh government will begin a comprehensive caste census on December 9 to enumerate all castes, Information and Public Relations Minister C Srinivasa Venugopala Krishna said on Friday.

Noting that completing the caste census is a major goal of the YSRCP government, the minister said, 'It is important to have a caste census to transform the living standards of people'.

Noting that there has been no caste census in India post independence but only a population census, the minister said that the government is eliciting opinions from caste representatives across the state, an official press release said.

Exuding confidence that the state would conduct the caste census in a fair and comprehensive manner, Krishna said Andhra Pradesh's enumeration exercise will emerge as a role model across the country.

He asserted that Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy is renowned for ensuring social justice, and claimed that opposition parties are shivering at the mere mention of a caste census.

Though initially the caste census was announced to cover the 139 Backward Classes (BC) communities, now its scope includes all castes in Andhra Pradesh, the release said. PTI STH ANE