The Union Ministry of Home Affairs, on Wednesday, June 5, announced that India’s next decennial census will be conducted in two phases and will provide a snapshot of the country’s population as of March 1, 2027, marking a historic shift as the first digital census and the first post-Independence enumeration to include caste.
According to multiple reports, the official gazette notification declaring the government’s intention to hold the census will be published tentatively on June 16. The last Census was held in 2011, and the 2021 exercise was indefinitely delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
According to a The Hindu report, “The census will be completed in two phases: first, the house listing and housing schedule, followed by population enumeration. Both phases will span a period of approximately 11 months.”
The reference date for the majority of the country will be March 1, 2027, while for Ladakh, and the snow-bound regions of Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, and Uttarakhand, it will be October 1, 2026. These dates mark the time point at which population data will be fixed.
According to Indian Express, the caste data will not include a consolidated Other Backward Classes (OBC) category but will instead be a plain listing of all castes. The traditional SC/ST categorisations and religious denominations will continue to be part of the enumeration.
While the government earlier faced Opposition demands for a caste-based population count, officials have clarified that the caste data is unlikely to lead to immediate affirmative action or a review of the existing 50% cap on reservations.
The census also holds significant political implications. As mandated by the 84th Constitutional Amendment Act (2001), the first census after 2026 will be the basis for redrawing Lok Sabha and Assembly constituencies. However, top government sources told Indian Express that the full census process, including data verification and final publication, may not be completed before the 2029 general elections.
The women’s reservation law passed in 2023, mandating 33% quota for women in Parliament and Assemblies, also hinges on delimitation based on the first census after its enactment. As per the Constitution (128th Amendment), this reservation will take effect only after relevant census figures are published and will be valid for 15 years thereafter.
Notably, there was no mention of updating the National Population Register (NPR) during the announcement, despite the fact that the NPR was to be updated during the first phase of the 2021 census. NPR, considered a precursor to the National Register of Indian Citizens, has been contentious, with several Opposition-ruled states objecting to its linkage with citizenship.
Digital transformation is a key feature of the upcoming exercise. Citizens may also be allowed to self-enumerate via an online portal developed during preparations for the 2021 Census. However, this will only apply to households that have updated their NPR data online.