New Delhi, May 19 (IANS) The government Thursday approved a proposal to conduct a survey based on caste, religion and economic conditions that will help in identifying people living below and above the poverty line with their social backgrounds.

 
 The proposed census was approved at the union cabinet meeting here chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
 
 The survey is expected to begin June and will be wrapped up by December, officials said.
 
 Information on caste and religion will help in evaluating the widely held belief that social and religious backgrounds had limited economic opportunities for most Indians, they said.
 
 The exercise will be carried out jointly by the rural and urban development ministry and the Registrar General of India.
 
 Census enumerators will distribute questionnaires regarding caste and religion asking just two questions to respondents: What is your caste and what is your religion.
 
 But the enumeration of people on poverty line is a technical process and would involve many questions like the number of family members, daily income and expenses, sources said.
 
 The poverty census was earlier carried out in 2002 in rural India but it would be the first time this information, also from urban areas, would be clubbed with data about caste and religion.