What to Expect from India's Upcoming 2027 Census: Caste Enumeration and More

India's 2027 Census Plans Unveiled
New Delhi: The Home Ministry has announced that the Census of India for 2027, which will include caste enumeration, is set to take place in two phases. The reference date for the census will be October 1, 2026, for snow-bound regions like Ladakh, while the rest of the country will follow on March 1, 2027.
The census will officially commence at midnight on March 1, 2027, as stated by the ministry. For areas affected by snow, including parts of Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, and Uttarakhand, the census will begin earlier, on October 1, 2026.
A notification regarding the census is expected to be published in the official gazette around June 16, 2025, in accordance with the Census Act of 1948.
The second phase of the census is scheduled to start in February 2027 and conclude by March 1, 2027. However, it remains uncertain if the National Population Register (NPR) will be updated concurrently with the census, as the previous attempt in 2020 was halted due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Conducted under the Census Act of 1948 and the Census Rules of 1990, the last census took place in 2011 in two phases: House Listing from April to September 2010 and Population Enumeration from February 9 to 28, 2011.
The 2021 Census was also planned in two phases, but the outbreak of COVID-19 led to its postponement.
The government has recently confirmed that caste enumeration will be included in the upcoming census, marking it as the first digital census, allowing citizens to self-enumerate.
The estimated cost for the entire census process is projected to exceed ₹13,000 crore. A cabinet meeting in December 2019 had initially approved a budget of ₹8,754.23 crore for the 2021 Census and ₹3,941.35 crore for updating the NPR.
Despite the Budget 2025-26 allocating only ₹574.80 crore for census-related activities, officials believe that budgetary concerns can be resolved.
On April 30, the Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, decided to incorporate caste enumeration into the census, emphasizing the government's commitment to the nation's holistic interests.
According to Article 246 of the Constitution, the Census is a subject listed in the Union List. While some states have conducted caste surveys, these have often lacked transparency and have been criticized for political motivations.
To avoid political pressure on social structures, the government has opted to include caste enumeration in the main census rather than conducting it as a separate survey. This approach aims to strengthen societal cohesion and ensure uninterrupted national progress.
Caste enumeration has not been part of census operations since India's independence. In 2010, then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had assured that the issue would be addressed in the Cabinet, but the previous government chose a survey instead of a census.
The Registrar General and Census Commissioner has prepared a comprehensive set of questions for citizens, covering various aspects of household resources and living conditions.