India is gearing up for Census 2027, a significant undertaking that will include a nationwide caste enumeration for the first time since 1931. The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has formally notified the commencement of house-listing operations, marking the beginning of preparations for the 16th Census of India. This census is particularly noteworthy as it will be the first digital census in the country, incorporating a caste enumeration.
The census will be conducted in two phases. Phase I, the House-listing and Housing Census, will take place from April 1 to September 30, 2026, with each State and Union Territory completing the operations within a 30-day window. Uttar Pradesh, for example, has decided to conduct this phase from May 22 to June 20, 2026. Phase II, the Population Enumeration, is scheduled for February 9 to February 28, 2027. However, for snow-bound and remote regions like Ladakh, Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, and Uttarakhand, the population enumeration reference date will be October 1, 2026. For the rest of the country, the reference date is March 1, 2027.
The legal basis for the census is provided by Sections 3 and 17A of the Census Act, 1948, and is being carried out by the Office of the Registrar General of India (RGI). This census supersedes the 2020 notification for the previously deferred 2021 Census.
This census will be conducted digitally, offering a 15-day self-enumeration window for households to submit data online before an enumerator's visit. Digital tools, including GPS tagging, offline data capture for areas with low connectivity, cloud uploads, and a Census Management and Monitoring System, will be used for near-real-time supervision. To ensure data security, stringent measures will be implemented during data collection, transmission, and storage.
The house-listing will include 34 parameters, expanding the data points collected. New parameters include details on internet access, smartphone ownership, the type of gas connection (PNG/LPG), vehicle categorization, the primary source of drinking water, and cereal consumption. In Uttar Pradesh, nearly 5.5 lakh enumerators and supervisors will be trained for the first phase of Census 2027. Approximately 3.4 million enumerators and supervisors, along with 130,000 census officials equipped with digital devices, will conduct the census.
The inclusion of caste enumeration is a significant aspect of Census 2027. This will be the first nationwide caste enumeration since 1931, going beyond just Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs). The data obtained will be crucial for future delimitation of electoral constituencies once the constitutional freeze is lifted. The census data, which collects population-related information, will be used to redraw Lok Sabha constituencies.
The census, initially planned for 2021, was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The undertaking is massive, involving a large number of personnel and advanced technology to ensure accuracy and efficiency. The results of Census 2027 are expected to provide valuable insights into the demographic, socio-economic, and cultural dynamics of India, guiding policy-making and resource allocation for the years to come.
