Centre Notifies Launch of Census Exercise for 2027

The Union Home Ministry has announced that the next Census of India will be conducted in 2027, with March 1 as the reference date—except for Ladakh, Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, and Uttarakhand, where it will be October 1, 2026. This will be the first national caste-based Census since 1931. The Census will occur in two phases: Houselisting and Population Enumeration. Around 34 lakh enumerators and 1.3 lakh officials will be involved. It will be India's 16th Census and 8th post-Independence, conducted digitally via mobile apps with a self-enumeration option and strong data security protocols.