Population Census-2027 to be Conducted in India Along with Enumeration of Castes

Posted 05 Jun 2025

2 min read

The Union Ministry of Home Affairs announced that India will conduct its next population census in two phases, with counting to be completed by March 1, 2027—the first such exercise since 2011.

After 2011, Census was due in 2020-2021, but was delayed due to Covid pandemic.

Population Census-2027: Key Details

Notification: Conduct of Population Census-2027 will be published in the official gazette, as per Section 3 of the Census Act, 1948.
The Census will be conducted in two phases:
- Phase I – House listing: Details of all buildings, permanent or temporary, are noted with their type, amenities, and assets.
- Phase II – Population enumeration: Detailed information on each individual residing in the country, Indian national or otherwise noted along with their caste.
Reference Dates (specific point of time for which the data on population is collected) for Census-2027
- For the Union Territory of Ladakh, Jammu & Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand: October 1, 2026.
- Rest of India: March 1, 2027.
Census will include caste enumeration, marking the first official collection of caste data since the 1931 exercise.
Digital census: This will be the country’s first digital census.

Census in India

Constitutional mandate: Article 246 of the Constitution (7th schedule Union List entry 69).
Legal provisions: India’s census is conducted under the provisions of the Census Act, 1948 and the Census Rules, 1990.
Head: Census organization headed by the Registrar General and Census Commissioner.
The Census will be 16^th decennial Census of India since 1872 when the first systematic Census was conducted throughout the country.
- This will be the 8^th successive exercise conducted after Independence.
- The first synchronous census in India was conducted in 1881 under the leadership of W.C. Plowden, and it became regular exercise.
Significance: The census is the principal source of official socioeconomic and demographic data that forms the basis for government schemes, policies, and planning.