New Delhi, Jan 8 — The first phase of Census 2027 will begin on April 1 with nationwide houselisting operations, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) said on Wednesday. The exercise will continue till September 30 across all states and Union territories.
According to a notification issued by Registrar General of India and Census Commissioner Mrityunjay Kumar Narayan, each state and UT will conduct houselisting for a 30-day period within the April–September window. Citizens will also have the option of self-enumeration for 15 days before door-to-door visits begin.
“The houselisting operations of the Census of India 2027 shall take place between April 1, 2026 and September 30, 2026, during the period of 30 days specified by each state and Union territory,” the notification said.
Officials said the census will be conducted in two phases. While the first phase will cover houselisting and the housing census, the second phase—population enumeration—is scheduled for February 2027.
An official described houselisting as a foundational step. “This stage forms the base for the entire census operation as it involves listing all buildings, houses and households,” the official said.
Census 2027 will also be the first since Independence to include caste data during the population enumeration phase. The government has said caste details will be collected electronically. The decision was taken by the Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on April 30 last year. The last comprehensive caste-based census was conducted during the British period between 1881 and 1931.
The upcoming exercise will be India’s first fully digital census, with about 30 lakh enumerators using mobile applications on Android and iOS platforms. Officials said the digital approach is intended to improve data accuracy and quality.
The decadal census was originally scheduled for 2021 but was postponed due to the Covid-19 pandemic. As per Census 2011, India’s population stood at 1,210.19 million, including 623.72 million males and 586.46 million females.
Read more: India to Count Caste in Next Census: Why It Matters Now