India’s 16th Census to Begin in 2027 After 16-Year Gap

New Delhi, 16 June, 2025: 

The Ministry of Home Affairs on Monday issued a gazette notification for the caste-based census, scheduled to begin in 2027. This will mark India's 16th national census. 

The notification said that the census proceedings will begin on October 1, 2026, in snow-bound areas like Ladakh. For the rest of the country, the mega exercise will commence on March 1, 2027.

The government informed that March 1, 2027, is the reference date for all states and Union territories (except Ladakh and snowbound areas of Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand). October 1, 2026, is the reference date for remaining states and UTs.

The home ministry's notification read, "The reference date for the said census shall be 00.00 hours of the 1st day of March, 2027, except for the Union territory of Ladakh and snow-bound non-synchronous areas of the Union territory of Jammu and Kashmir and the States of Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand." 

"In respect of the Union territory of Ladakh and snow-bound non-synchronous areas of the Union territory of Jammu and Kashmir and the States of Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand, the reference date shall be 00:00 hours of October 1, 2026," it added.

The official gazette read, “In the exercise of the powers conferred by section 3 of the Census Act, 1948 (37 of 1948), and in supersession of the notification of the Government of India in the Ministry of Home Affairs (Office of the Registrar General, India) number S.O. 1455(E), dated the 26th March, 2019 published in the Gazette of India, Extraordinary, Part II, section 3, sub-section (ii), dated the 28th March, 2019, except as respects things done or omitted to be done before such supersession, the Central Government hereby declares that a census of the population of India shall be taken during the year 2027.”

The upcoming census will be conducted after a 16-year gap, the last being held in 2011. According to the government’s statement, the exercise aimed at collecting population-related data will involve around 34 lakh enumerators and supervisors, along with nearly 1.3 lakh census functionaries equipped with digital devices. 

The exercise will be conducted in two phases – Houselisting Operation (HLO) and Population Enumeration (PE). Under HLO, data on the housing conditions, assets and amenities of each household will be collected. Under PE, data about the demographic, socio-economic, cultural and other details of every person in each household will be collected.

The government said in a press release that Census 2021 was initially planned to be conducted in two phases, Phase I between April and September 2020, and Phase II in February 2021, following a similar structure.

“All the preparations for the first phase of the Census to be conducted in 2021 were completed and field work was scheduled to begin in some States/UTs from April 1, 2020. However, due to the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic across the country, the census work was postponed,” it said.