The Government has decided to conduct the Population Census – 2027 in two phases, along with the enumeration of castes.

The first phase will be conducted in hilly and snow-hit areas of  Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand and  Ladakh beginning 1st of October, 2026.  The second phase covering other parts of the country will be held from 1st of March 2027. The last census was conducted in 2011 in two phases. These were Phase I for  House Listing and Phase II for  Population Enumeration.               

The notification for the intent of conducting Population Census is likely to be  published in the official gazette on 16th of this month. The process of Census begins with the issuance of the notification.

Census 2021 was also proposed to be conducted in two phases with phase I during April-September 2020 and second phase in February 2021. All the preparations for the first phase of the Census to be conducted in 2021 were completed. However, the census work was postponed due to the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic across the country. The Indian Census is one of the largest administrative and statistical exercise in the world. Census provides a picture of the country’s demographic, economic, social, and cultural profile. The Census also serves as a foundation for conducting other surveys across the country.