• Source:JND

Census 2027: The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has formally notified the timeline for the first phase of Census 2027. In the first phase, house listing operations will be carried out and will be completed between April 1, 2026, and September 30, 2026, within 30 days to be determined by each state and union territory.

The MHA notification has also added a self-enumeration option for citizens, which will be available 15 days before the door-to-door enumeration start date. This will allow citizens to enter their information themselves through an app or portal.

About Census 2027

First Digital Census: As digitalisation has entered almost every space of governance and public sphere, the upcoming census will also be a digital one - the first digital census. All the processes, including data collection and real-time monitoring, among others, will be done through digital means. The data collection will be done through a mobile app (both Android and iOS), and real-time monitoring will be done through the Census Management and Monitoring System (CMMS) portal.

Census staff: Across the country, approximately 3 million ground workers (mainly government teachers) will be involved to complete the entire process.

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Census delayed by 6 years: The census is usually conducted every 10 years, and the last such exercise was carried out in 2011. In 2021, the process was slated to take place, but due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it was delayed and is finally being conducted in 2026-27.

Two processes: This census will be completed in two phases. The first phase will be house listing and housing status, while the second phase will be the population count in February 2027.

Reference date: The reference date for the census 2027 is midnight on March 1, 2027 (except in snow-covered areas, where it will be in September 2026).

Budget: In 2025, the Union Cabinet approved the census at a cost of Rs 11,718 crore. The census phase will also include caste-related information, a first for independent India.

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World's largest administrative exercise: The government has emphasized that data dissemination will be user-friendly and machine-readable, providing data to ministries through a census-based access service (CaaS). This will be the world's largest administrative exercise, providing crucial data for policymaking and development planning.


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