• Source:JND
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Caste Census: The Centre has announced that the Population Census-2027 will be conducted in two phases, incorporating the enumeration of castes. The main census operation will start on March 1, 2027, but for Ladakh and the snow-bound, non-synchronous regions of Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, and Uttarakhand, it will begin earlier in October 2026. The official notification regarding these dates is expected to be published in the government gazette around June 16, 2025, as per the Census Act of 1948.

In a press release, Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) wrote, "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 the non-synchronous snow-bound 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 notification for intent of conducting Population Census with the above reference dates will be published in the official gazette tentatively on 16.06.2025, as per provision of section 3 of Census Act 1948."

The Census of India is conducted under the provisions of the Census Act, 1948 and the Census Rules, 1990. The last Census was held in 2011 in two phases: Phase I – House Listing (HLO) from 1 April to 30 September 2010, and Phase II – Population Enumeration (PE) from 9 February to 28 February 2011.

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The reference date for the 2011 census was 00:00 hours on 1 March 2011, except for snow-bound and non-synchronous regions of Jammu and Kashmir, Uttarakhand, and Himachal Pradesh, where the census was conducted between 11 and 30 September 2010 with a reference date of 00:00 hours on 1 October 2010.

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The Census planned for 2021 was also designed to be carried out in two phases similarly, with Phase I scheduled from April to September 2020 and Phase II in February 2021. Preparations for the first phase were completed, and fieldwork was to begin in some States and Union Territories starting 1 April 2020. However, the census work was postponed due to the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic across the country.