New Delhi:
The Government of India has officially announced the schedule for the first phase of Census 2027, which will be conducted between April 1 and September 30, 2026, across all states and Union Territories. The information was shared through a notification issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on Wednesday.
According to the notification, the first phase of the census will focus on House Listing and Housing Census (HLH). During this phase, details related to residential houses, household amenities, and basic facilities will be collected. Each state and Union Territory will carry out the exercise during a designated 30-day period within the April–September window.
Self-Enumeration Facility Introduced
The Home Ministry has also introduced a self-enumeration (self-counting) option as part of Census 2027. Citizens will be allowed to submit their details digitally during a 15-day period immediately preceding the start of the house listing phase in their respective states or Union Territories. This move is aimed at improving data accuracy and increasing public participation through digital means.
Digital Census in Two Phases
Census 2027 will be conducted as a fully digital census and will take place in two distinct phases:
- Phase One (April–September 2026):
House Listing and Housing Census - Phase Two (February 2027):
Population Enumeration, covering demographic, social, and economic details of individuals
The notification was issued by Mritunjay Kumar Narayan, Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India, who confirmed that the central government has formally declared the commencement of Census 2027 under the Census Act.
First Census After a Decade-Long Gap
The decennial census, which was originally scheduled for 2021, was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Census 2027 will therefore be India’s first population census in more than a decade and is expected to play a crucial role in policy planning, welfare schemes, infrastructure development, and electoral delimitation in the coming years.
Significance of Census 2027
The upcoming census is expected to provide critical data for:
- Government planning and policymaking
- Allocation of resources and welfare benefits
- Urban and rural development
- Socio-economic and demographic analysis
With the adoption of digital tools and self-enumeration, Census 2027 marks a significant shift towards a technology-driven and citizen-friendly data collection process.