Census in 2 Phases From March 1, 2027

New Delhi: The Centre on Wednesday announced the schedule for conducting the much-delayed national census besides the recently cleared proposal for caste enumeration in two phases, commencing March 1, 2027. The twin exercise for the Union territory of Ladakh and the non-synchronous snowbound areas of Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand, however, will begin on October 1, 2026. After the government announced the schedule, the Congress said that there is no reason to delay the exercise for another 23 months.

“It has been decided to conduct Population Census-2027 (the 16th census) in two phases, along with the enumeration of castes. The reference date for the Population Census-2027 will be 00:00 hours of the first day of March, 2027. For the Union territory of Ladakh and the non-synchronous snowbound areas of the UT of Jammu and Kashmir and states of Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand, the reference date will be 00.00 hours of the first day of October, 2026,” the Union home ministry said in a release.

The notification for the intent of conducting the population census with the reference dates will be published in the official gazette tentatively on June 16 in line with the Census Act 1948, the ministry further said.

The census exercise is going to be conducted after a delay of seven years, as the decennial census was due to be conducted in 2021 but was postponed because Covid-19 outbreak and was subsequently postponed because of technical and administrative reasons.

The census of India is conducted under the provisions of the Census Act 1948 and the Census Rules 1990. The last census was conducted in 2011 in two phases: Phase I – house listing (HLO) from April 1 to September 30, 2010, and Phase II – population enumeration (PE) from February 9 to February 28, 2011, with reference date 00:00 hours of the first day of March 2011, except for snowbound non-synchronous areas of Jammu and Kashmir, Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh, for which it was conducted during September 11 to 30, 2010, with reference date as 00:00 hours of the first day of October 2010.

Census 2021 was also proposed to be conducted in two phases in a similar manner, with phase I during April-September 2020 and the second phase in February 2021. All the preparations for the first phase of the census to be conducted in 2021 were completed and fieldwork was scheduled to begin in some states/UTs from April 1, 2020. However, due to the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic across the country, the census work was postponed.

The entire census exercise is likely to cost the government over Rs 13,000 crores. A meeting of the Union Cabinet on December 24, 2019, approved the proposal for conducting the Census of India 2021 at a cost of Rs 8,754.23 crores and updating the National Population Register (NPR) at a cost of Rs 3,941.35 crores.

However, the Budget 2025-26 allocated just Rs 574.80 crores for census surveys and statistics/the Registrar General of India (RGI).

On April 30, the Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Mod,i decided to include caste enumeration in the upcoming census. The decision demonstrated that the Modi government is committed to the holistic interests and values of the nation and society, an official statement issued by the government on April 30 said.

According to Article 246 of the Constitution, the census is a subject listed at 69 in the Union List in the Seventh Schedule.

In 2010, then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had assured the Lok Sabha that the matter of caste census will be considered in the Cabinet. A group of ministers was formed to deliberate on this subject and most political parties recommended conducting a caste census. However, the previous Congress-led government opted for a survey instead of a caste census, known as the Socio-Economic and Caste Census (SECC).

The office of the registrar general and census commissioner had prepared around three dozen questions to be asked to the citizens. The questions included whether a family has a telephone, Internet connection, mobile or smartphone, bicycle, scooter or motorcycle or moped and whether they own a car, jeep or van.

The citizens were asked questions such as the cereal they consume in the household, the main source of drinking water, the main source of lighting, access to a latrine, the type of latrine, wastewater outlet, availability of a bathing facility, availability of a kitchen and LPG/PNG connection, the main fuel used for cooking and availability of a radio, transistor and television.

Responding to the government decision, the Congress said there is no reason to delay the exercise for another 23 months and alleged that the Narendra Modi government does not meet deadlines.

In a post on X, Congress general secretary (communications) Jairam Ramesh said: "There is really no reason to delay the census that was due in 2021 for another twenty-three months. The Modi government is capable only of generating headlines, not meeting deadlines."