New Delhi, August 14: The Ministry of Home Affairs through the Office of the Registrar General has formally issued a notification outlining forty questions to be asked during the population enumeration phase of Census 2027. Marking a historic transition in post-independence data collection, the upcoming questionnaire includes comprehensive caste enumeration for all communities across the nation. The Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs authorized this expanded scope, extending systematic caste recording beyond the traditional coverage of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.
Officials are set to collect extensive demographic, socio-economic, and personal particulars using advanced digital tools alongside an optional self-enumeration facility. Beyond core demographic parameters like age, religion, marital status, and educational attainment, the schedule incorporates queries on economic activities, migration patterns, and vaccination history. Citizens will also be asked to share identification details, including voter cards, passports, driving licenses, and official unique identification credentials.
To uphold data security and encourage transparent public cooperation, the central government maintained that individual records remain fully protected by statutory confidentiality mandates.
In exercise of the powers conferred by sub-section (1) of section 8 of the Census Act, 1948, the Central Government hereby instructs and directs that the census officers may, within the limits of the local area for which they have been respectively appointed, ask all such questions of all persons residing within such limits, pertaining to the items enumerated below, for collecting information through the Household Schedule in connection with the Census of India 2027, the Ministry of Home Affairs stated.
The overall initiative operates under an approved financial layout exceeding eleven thousand crore rupees, structured across two distinct operational phases. The initial phase focused on house listing and housing status will run between April and September 2026, setting the baseline for the main population enumeration planned for February 2027. Special timelines have been established for snow-bound regions, including Ladakh, Jammu and Kashmir, Uttarakhand, and Himachal Pradesh, to ensure complete geographical coverage. Authorities affirmed that all personal information collected under the statutory provisions remains entirely exempt from public disclosure or legal evidence mechanisms under federal privacy safeguards.
