New Delhi: The next national census — a detailed exercise to count the population and collect vital socio-economic data — is set to begin on March 1, 2027, sources said.
However, the census will begin earlier — as soon as October 2026 — in Ladakh, Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, and Uttarakhand.
The census will be carried out in two phases. The first phase will start on October 1, 2026 and the second phase on March 1, 2027.
It will include a vital addition to its extensive questionnaire for men and women across the country — detailed enquiries about caste and sub-castes. It’s for the first time in over seven decades that the nationwide census will include caste enumeration. The Centre states that the move is aimed at promoting transparency, and ensuring national uniformity. Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw had said during a Cabinet briefing on April 30 that the Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs had approved the inclusion of caste data in the main census.
The last national population census was conducted in 2011, while the 2021 edition was scrapped because of the Covid-19 pandemic. Therefore, the 2027 census will be the first in 16 years.
The opposition has been calling for the census, saying the latest and correct information about the population and people’s living conditions was vital for making good government decisions.
