The population census will use 00:00 hours on March 1, 2027 as its reference dateManipur, Goa, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Uttarakhand, Ladakh, Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir are left out of this round.
Published: October 30, 2026, 11:23 PM IST
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The second phase will involve the collection of individual-level demographic, social and economic details through a household schedule containing 40 questionsRepresentational Image/PTI
The second phase of Census 2027 now has datesThe MHA notified on Friday that enumeration will take place from January 25 to February 28, 2027, with a revisional round from March 1 to 5It will cover every state and Union Territory except Manipur (until further declaration), Goa, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Uttarakhand, Ladakh and the snow-bound non-synchronous areas of Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir.
The ministry has provided an option for self-enumeration from January 10 to 24, 2027, ahead of the commencement of the house-to-house population enumerationThe reference date for the census has been fixed at 00:00 hours on March 1, 2027.
“In exercise of the powers conferred by section 3 of the Census Act, 1948 (37 of 1948) read with rules 6A and 6D of the Census Rules, 1990, the Central Government hereby declares that in all States and Union territories of India except the State of Manipur (till further declaration), the States of Goa, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Uttarakhand, the Union territory of Ladakh and the snow-bound non-synchronous areas of the State of Himachal Pradesk and the Union territory of Jammu and Kashmir the conduct of census of the population shall be undertaken from the 25th January, 2027 to the 28th February, 2027 with a revisional round from the 1st March., 2027 to the 5th March, 2027.”
“For the conduct of the said census, there shall be an option for self-enumeration from the 10th January, 2027 to the 24th January, 2027, just before the start of the house-to-house population enumerationThe reference date for the said census shall be 00:00 hours of the 1st day of March, 2027,” reads the notificationCensus 2027 is being conducted in two phases, with the first phase covering House Listing and Housing Census, followed by Population EnumerationThe first phase, which began in April 2026, focused on collecting information about housing conditions, household amenities and assets.
The second phase will involve the collection of individual-level demographic, social and economic details through a household schedule containing 40 questionsThese include information related to age, marital status, religion, caste, education, employment, migration, disability and other demographic parametersA major feature of Census 2027 is comprehensive caste enumeration, making it the first census since Independence to collect caste details across all communitiesUntil the 2011 Census, the systematic enumeration covered Scheduled Castes and Scheduled TribesThe decision to include comprehensive caste enumeration was taken by the Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs on April 30, 2025.
Census 2027 is India’s first digital census, with data collection being carried out through digital toolsThe Central government has approved an outlay of Rs 11,718.24 crore for Census 2027The exercise will cover 36 states and Union Territories, 7,092 sub-districts, 5,128 statutory towns, 4,580 census towns and approximately 6.39 lakh villages.
