It would be very exhaustive to keep up the count of the population of the country as well as critical socio-economic details as soon the next census will begin from March 1, 2027, as informed by the government sources on  Wednesday.

Census 2027 Including Caste Data

They are planning to commence it as early as October 2026 for the snow-bound states and union territories, such as Ladakh, Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, and Uttarakhand.

Moving ahead, they will be conducting the census over these two phases as they will have to contain a significant addition to the long list of questions asked of men and women nationwide – those on caste and sub-castes.

It would be conducted in two phases, the first phase will have house listing and the next will have the population count.

Here mentioned House listing is the first phase which is expected to take about 5-6 months.

While the next phase, which is population count, is expected to start in February 2027 and will be completed in a month, according to the sources.

Earlier, the government confirmed questions on caste – i.e., an enumeration of the various castes and sub-castes, and the number of people in each – will be part of the next census  during April 30.

It appears that the decision to include caste enumeration in the census  was apparently a demand pressed fiercely by the opposition.

This was announced just months before a critical Assembly election in Bihar as almost 63 per cent of the population of which comes from Extremely Backward or Backward classes.

Sensus Conducted In Two Phases

They have considered the reference date for hilly areas, including the Union Territory of Ladakh, and snow-bound areas of Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand, is October 1, 2026 and March 1, 2027 for the rest of India.

The reference date is the specific point of time for which the data on population is collected.

When it comes to the census, it is normally conducted every decade in India.

Prior to this, the last national population count was taken in 2011.

After that, the 2021 census had to be abandoned because of the pandemic.

So this coming 2027 census holds a great importance as it will be first held in 16 years.

In the meantime, the opposition has been pushing for a census to be held.

According to them, it is necessary to have an accurate, up-to-date count of population and socio-economic data for effective policy-making.