The first phase of Census 2027, delayed partly due to the Covid-19 pandemic, will begin on April 1, with nearly 30 lakh officials tasked with counting the world’s largest population.
The Census will be conducted digitally in two phases. The first phase is known as the House Listing and Housing Census (HLO) while the second phase includes the Population Census (PE).
This marks India’s 16th Census and its eighth since Independence. For the first time, citizens will also have the option of self-enumeration.
Enumerators will use a specially developed mobile application to collect data during the Census.
Phase 1, a month-long exercise running from April 1 to September 30, will focus on 33 questions related to basic household facilities and details about the head of the household, such as name and sex, as well as ownership status.
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Enumerators will gather information on amenities and assets, including the primary source and availability of drinking water, source of lighting, sanitation facilities, wastewater outlets, and the availability of bathing and kitchen facilities. The survey will also gather data on LPG/PNG connections and primary cooking fuels.
Additionally, data on household possessions such as radios, televisions, internet access, laptops/computers, mobile phones, bicycles, scooters, motorcycles, and cars will be collected.
Citizens will also be able to provide information through self-enumeration in 16 languages during a 15-day window before the start of HLO in their respective state or Union Territory.
Phase II, the Population Enumeration (PE), will be conducted in February 2027. However, In the Union Territory of Ladakh and snow-bound non-synchronous areas of UT of Jammu and Kashmir and States of Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh, the phase II of the census will be conducted during September 2026.
This phase will collect demographic, socio-economic, educational, migration, and fertility data from each individual.
The second phase of the census will also collect details of castes. India recorded its castes in 2011 for the first time in 80 years, but the data was not fully publicised amid concerns about its accuracy.
The Union Government has approved a budget of Rs 11,718.24 crore for Census 2027. Earlier this week, the government released the official set of 33 questions to be asked during the first phase of the Census.
