The next nationwide census—India's comprehensive exercise to record population figures along with key socio-economic indicators—will begin on March 1, 2027, government sources informed media on Wednesday.
In regions where weather conditions make access difficult during winter months, such as Ladakh, Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, and Uttarakhand, the process will commence earlier, starting in October 2026. This advance rollout in snow-bound states and union territories is a routine logistical measure used in previous census exercises.
The upcoming census will be conducted in two phases and will include a major addition to the data collected: questions on caste and sub-caste identities. This marks a significant shift in India’s demographic data-gathering process.
On April 30, the government confirmed that the enumeration will include details about various castes and sub-castes, as well as the number of people belonging to each. The inclusion of caste data has long been a key demand of opposition parties, who argue that such information is essential for equitable policy design and allocation of resources.
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The announcement comes in the lead-up to a high-stakes Assembly election in Bihar, a state where over 63 per cent of the population belongs to Extremely Backward Classes (EBCs) or Other Backward Classes (OBCs). The timing of the decision is seen as politically significant, as caste-based data could influence electoral strategies and governance models in the state and beyond.
India’s census is traditionally conducted every ten years, with the last national count completed in 2011. The scheduled 2021 census was abandoned due to the COVID-19 pandemic, making the 2027 census the first in 16 years. Opposition leaders have consistently called for an updated census, arguing that accurate and current data on population size and socio-economic conditions is essential for effective policy-making, welfare distribution, and planning in a rapidly changing country.
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