New Delhi, Jan 23:The Centre has officially issued the notification for the first phase of the Census of India 2027. The house listing operations will take place between April 1 and September 30, 2026, across all States and Union Territories, with each region allotted a specific 30-day period for the exercise. According to the Home Ministry's notification, a provision for self-enumeration will be available for 15 days prior to the house-to-house listing, allowing citizens to provide their data digitally as per the schedule set by each State/UT.
This census will be a first in India as it will be conducted entirely through digital means, with data being collected via mobile applications that will be compatible with both Android and iOS devices. Approximately 30 lakh field functionaries, including enumerators, supervisors, trainers, charge officers, and census officers, will be deployed to carry out the data collection, monitoring, and supervision of the operations.
The census will be conducted in two phases:
The first phase will involve House Listing and Housing Census, running from April to September 2026.
The second phase, Population Enumeration (PE), will commence in February 2027. However, for regions like Ladakh, snow-bound areas in Jammu & Kashmir, and the states of Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand, the population enumeration will be conducted in September 2026.
This digital census comes after the Union Cabinet, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, approved the scheme for the 2027 Census at a cost of ₹11,718.24 crore. Additionally, the Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs had decided to include caste enumeration in this upcoming census, a significant development for the first time in decades.
