The much-delayed nation-wide population census, which also includes caste enumeration, will begin on March 1, 2027, the Union home ministry announced on Wednesday.
This will be the first time in more than seven decades, the caste enumeration has been included as part of the exercise.
Census in snow-bound areas like Ladakh will begin as early as on October 1, 2026, the ministry said, adding that the whole exercise will be conducted in two phases.
Also read
- Caste, code, and counting: How the Rs 11,718 cr digital census 2027 will redefine Indian policy
- Census 2027 | Government launches 2 new apps for test phase amid digital push: All you need to know
- Karnataka: CM Siddaramaiah orders fresh caste survey from September 22 to October 7, calls it model for the nation
"For the Union Territory of Ladakh and the non-synchronous snow-bound areas of the UT of Jammu and Kashmir and states of Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand, the reference date will be 00.00 hours of the first day of October 2026," the MHA said in a statement.
A notification in this regard will be published in the official gazette tentatively on June 16.
The Census of India is conducted under the provisions of the Census Act, 1948 and the Census Rules, 1990. The last Census was also conducted in 2011 in two phases. The first phase involved house listing and the second population enumeration.
According to the MHA, the Census 2021 was also proposed to be conducted in two phases in a similar manner with phase I during April-September 2020 and second phase in February 2021. All the preparations for the first phase were completed and field work was scheduled to begin in some States/UTs from April 1, 2020. However, due to the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic across the country, the census work was postponed, the ministry noted.
