New Delhi, June 16: The Union Home Ministry has on Monday officially notified that India’s next Census will be conducted in 2027, marking the country’s 16th population count and the first caste-based enumeration since 1931.
According to a gazette notification issued on Monday by Mritunjay Kumar Narayan, Registrar General and Census Commissioner, the Census will be carried out under the Census Act of 1948. The reference date for most of the country will be March 1, 2027. However, for Ladakh and snow-bound areas in Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, and Uttarakhand, the reference date will be October 1, 2026.
This will be the first full-scale Census since 2011, after the 2021 exercise was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah reviewed preparations on Sunday with senior officials, including Home Secretary Govind Mohan. The Census will be conducted in two phases:
- Houselisting Operation (HLO) – where information on housing, assets, and amenities will be gathered.
- Population Enumeration (PE) – which will collect demographic, socio-economic, and cultural data, including caste details.
The massive operation will involve around 34 lakh enumerators and supervisors, along with 1.3 lakh Census functionaries. For the first time, the Census will be carried out digitally using mobile applications. Citizens will also have the option of self-enumeration.
The government emphasized that strict data security protocols will be followed to ensure the protection of information during collection, transmission, and storage.
