Nearly a month after the Modi government signalled its readiness to conduct a caste enumeration as part of the population census, the ministry of home affairs on Wednesday announced that the decadal Population Census will begin on 1 March 2027, and will include caste enumeration for the first time in decades.
The census will be conducted in two phases. For snow-bound states and Union Territories — including Ladakh, Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, and Uttarakhand — the exercise will begin earlier, on 1 October 2026, the ministry said in an official statement.
"A decision has been made to conduct the Population Census 2027 in two phases, along with the enumeration of castes. The reference date for the census will be 00:00 hours of March 1, 2027," the statement read.
For regions with difficult terrain and extreme weather, the reference date will be 1 October 2026, the statement clarified.
The announcement comes amid growing political pressure, particularly from the Congress, which has been pushing hard for a nationwide caste census.
Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi has consistently advocated for it, calling the caste census an “X-ray of Indian society” and essential for framing equitable welfare policies.
India’s last decadal census was conducted in 2011. The 2021 census, originally scheduled for the usual 10-year interval, was postponed owing to the Covid-19 pandemic and prolonged administrative delays. As a result, India has gone over a decade without fresh population data, including updated figures on caste demographics.
The notification for the intent of conducting the 2027 Population Census with the stated reference dates will be published in the official gazette "tentatively on 16.06.2025, as per provision of section 3 of Census Act 1948", the ministry statement said.
Officials said the second and final phase of the census will begin in February 2027 and conclude on 1 March 2027 (reference date).
It is not immediately clear whether the exercise to update the National Population Register (NPR) will be carried out along with the Census. The government was planning to do so along with the Census in 2020.
The Census of India is conducted under the provisions of the Census Act, 1948 and the Census Rules, 1990.
The last Census was conducted in 2011 in two phases: Phase I of House Listing (HLO) from April 1 to September 30, 2010) and Phase II of Population Enumeration (PE) (February 9 to 28, 2011) "with reference date - 00:00 hours of the first day of March 2011, except for snow-bound non-synchronous areas of Jammu and Kashmir, Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh for which it was conducted during September 11 to 30, 2010 with reference date as 00.00 hours of the first day of October 2010".
Census 2021 was also proposed to be conducted in two phases with phase I during April-September 2020 and the second phase in February 2021.
All preparations for the first phase of the Census to be conducted in 2021 were complete and fieldwork was scheduled to begin in some States/UTs from 1 April 2020. However, the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic across the country caused the census work to be postponed.
The government recently decided that it will carry out a caste enumeration along with the Census. This will also be the first digital Census, giving citizens an opportunity to self-enumerate.
The entire Census exercise is likely to cost the government over Rs 13,000 crore.
A meeting of the Union cabinet on 24 December 2019 approved the proposal for a Census of India 2021 at a cost of Rs 8,754.23 crore and updating the NPR at a cost of Rs 3,941.35 crore.
However, the Budget 2025-26 allocated just Rs 574.80 crore for census surveys and statistics/the Registrar General of India (RGI).
A government functionary said the budget was a minor issue and could be sorted out without any impediment.
On 30 April, the Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi decided to include caste enumeration in the upcoming census.
The decision demonstrated that the Modi government "is committed to the holistic interests and values of the nation and society", an official statement issued by the government on 30 April said.
According to Article 246 of the Constitution, the Census is a subject listed at 69 in the Union List in the Seventh Schedule.
While some states have conducted surveys to enumerate castes, these surveys have varied in transparency and intent, with some conducted purely from a "political angle, creating doubts in society", the government had said.
"Considering all these circumstances, and to ensure that our social fabric does not come under political pressure, it has been decided that caste enumeration should be included in the main census instead of being conducted as a separate survey," the statement said.
In 2010, then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had assured the Lok Sabha that the matter of caste census would be considered in the Cabinet.
A Group of Ministers was formed to deliberate on this subject, and most political parties recommended conducting a caste census. However, the previous Congress-led government opted for a survey instead of a caste census, known as the Socio-Economic and Caste Census (SECC).
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