New Delhi, Jan 7: The first phase of Census 2027 will be conducted between April 1 and September 30, with houselisting operations to be carried out across all states and Union territories, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) said on Wednesday.
According to a notification issued by Registrar General of India and Census Commissioner Mrityunjay Kumar Narayan, each state and UT will carry out houselisting over a 30-day period within the April–September window. An option for self-enumeration will also be provided for 15 days immediately before the start of door-to-door operations.
“The houselisting operations of the Census of India 2027 shall take place between April 1, 2026 and September 30, 2026, during the period of 30 days specified by each state and Union territory,” the notification said.
The census exercise, originally scheduled for 2021, was deferred due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The government has now planned the decadal count in two phases. The first phase will involve houselisting and a housing census, while the second phase — population enumeration — will be conducted in February 2027.
Officials said the houselisting phase is crucial as it involves systematic listing of all buildings, houses and households to create a reliable framework for population enumeration. “This stage forms the base for the entire census operation,” an official explained.
Census 2027 will also mark the first time since Independence that caste data will be collected during the population enumeration phase. The government had earlier stated that caste details would be captured electronically.
The decision to include caste enumeration was taken by the Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on April 30 last year. The last comprehensive caste-based census was carried out during the British period between 1881 and 1931.
The upcoming census will be India’s first fully digital census, with around 30 lakh enumerators collecting data using mobile applications compatible with Android and iOS platforms. Officials said the move is aimed at improving accuracy and data quality.
As per Census 2011, India’s population stood at 1,210.19 million, including 623.72 million males and 586.46 million females.
