India to Launch Caste Census in October 2026: Key Details
Caste Census Scheduled to Begin
The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has announced that the national caste census is expected to commence on October 1, 2026. This initiative, which marks the first nationwide caste enumeration in nearly 94 years, will be executed in two phases. The initial phase will focus on the northern hilly regions.
Sources indicate that the census will start in the Union Territories of Ladakh and Jammu & Kashmir, as well as the states of Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh, beginning on the specified date.
Phased Approach for Caste Enumeration
The caste census will be conducted in two distinct phases. The enumeration will kick off in the four hilly states mentioned above on October 1, 2026, while the remaining states will follow suit starting March 1, 2027. The MHA has confirmed that both the caste enumeration and the Population Census-2027 will be organized in this phased manner. The reference date for the Population Census-2027 is set for midnight on the first day of March 2027, while for the Union Territories and non-simultaneous snowy regions of Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, and Uttarakhand, the reference date will be midnight on the first day of October 2026. This decision was approved by the Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs under Prime Minister Narendra Modi on April 30, 2025. Information Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw has assured that the census will be conducted transparently.
Delay Due to COVID-19
The ministry further explained that the census is conducted under the provisions of the Census Act of 1948 and the Census Rules of 1990. The last census in India took place in 2011 and was executed in two phases: Phase I involved house listing from April to September 2010, and Phase II was the population enumeration from February 9 to February 28, 2011, with a reference date of March 1, 2011, except for the snowy regions of Jammu & Kashmir, Uttarakhand, and Himachal Pradesh, which had a different reference date. The 2021 census was also planned to be conducted in two phases, with the first phase scheduled for April to September 2020 and the second phase in February 2021. However, due to the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, the census work was postponed.
Official Announcement
Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) says, "It has been decided to conduct Population Census-2027 in two phases along with enumeration of castes. The reference date for Population Census - 2027 will be 00:00 hours of the first day of March, 2027. For the Union Territory of Ladakh and… pic.twitter.com/Crprvaqa7j
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