Government Confirms Caste Enumeration in Upcoming Census 2027

Caste Enumeration to be Included in Census 2027

New Delhi, June 17: The Central government has dismissed rumors circulating on social media that suggest the Caste enumeration will not be part of the Census 2027.

On Monday evening, the Press Information Bureau (PIB) took to the social media platform X, advising the public to rely on credible sources for accurate information and to avoid unverified claims.

In another post, PIB reiterated, "The Government has confirmed that Caste enumeration will occur alongside Census 2027."

Union Home Minister Amit Shah conducted a review of the Census preparations on June 15 with senior officials, including the Union Home Secretary and the Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India.

The official gazette published the notification to initiate the Census on Monday.

The Census will be executed in two distinct phases.

The first phase, known as the Houselisting Operation (HLO), will gather data on housing conditions, assets, and amenities for each household.

The second phase, termed Population Enumeration (PE), will collect demographic, socio-economic, cultural, and other relevant details for every individual in each household.

Caste enumeration will be included in this Census.

Approximately 34 lakh enumerators and supervisors, along with around 1.3 lakh Census officials, will be deployed for the Census activities.

This Census marks the 16th since its inception and the eighth since India gained independence.

The upcoming Census will utilize digital methods, including mobile applications, for data collection.

Self-enumeration options will also be available to the public.

Robust data security measures will be implemented to protect data during collection, transmission, and storage.

Previously, the Union Home Ministry had addressed misleading information regarding the Census.

This response followed allegations from the Congress party, which claimed the gazette notification was ambiguous about caste inclusion and questioned whether this indicated a reversal by the Central government.

"The notification for conducting the Census has been officially published today, and it will include caste enumeration as well," the Ministry stated.

Congress General Secretary Jairam Ramesh emphasized the need for the Centre to adopt the Telangana model for caste enumeration and detailed socio-economic data collection.

The Census will reference October 1, 2026, for snow-bound regions like Ladakh, and March 1, 2027, for the remainder of the country, as per the notification.

This will be the first caste-based enumeration since India’s independence.

The last extensive caste count was conducted by the British between 1881 and 1931.

Caste data has been excluded from census operations in Independent India.

The decision to include caste in the upcoming census was made by the Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on April 30.