Two-phase enumeration: house listing in 2026, population count in 2027
The government has planned Census 2027 in two distinct phases. The House Listing and Housing Census will be held from April to September 2026; states and Union Territories will select a convenient 30-day window within this period. The Population Enumeration (PE) phase is scheduled for February 2027, with special arrangements for snow-bound and non-synchronous areas where PE may take place in September 2026.
Digitisation at scale: India’s first fully digital census
Officials described Census 2027 as India’s first fully digital census. Data collection will be carried out using mobile applications on Android and iOS devices. A central Census Management & Monitoring System (CMMS) will provide real-time tracking, while mapping and supervision will be supported by a House Listing Block (HLB) Creator web-map tool.
The digital approach is expected to reduce manual errors, accelerate tabulation and speed up public data release. For the first time, the public will also have options for self-enumeration through secure online interfaces.
Caste enumeration to feature in Phase II
Responding to long-standing requests and policy debates, the government confirmed that caste data will be collected during the Population Enumeration phase. The Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs decided in April 2025 to include caste enumeration, and the Census office will capture the responses electronically during PE.
Scale, staffing and capacity building
The exercise will employ roughly 30 lakh field functionaries enumerators, supervisors, trainers and census officers mobilised by state and district administrations. Many enumerators will be drawn from existing government staff such as school teachers, who will receive honoraria for census duties.
Technically, the project will engage about 18,600 technical personnel across software, data management and security for an estimated 550 days, generating approximately 1.02 crore man-days of employment related to the census operation.
Data delivery, privacy and policy use
The government has proposed a Census-as-a-Service (CaaS) model to deliver cleaned, machine-readable outputs to ministries and data users. Outputs will be made available down to village and ward levels to support targeted policymaking, planning and resource allocation.
Officials have emphasised data security and privacy measures, including secure servers, encryption and restricted access. The Census office says the questionnaire and technical safeguards are being finalised after consultations with multiple ministries and research organisations.
Budget allocation and implementation timeline
The approved ₹11,718.24 crore will finance procurement of digital devices, software development, training, field logistics and data security. Preparatory works including application development, pilot surveys and enumerator training are expected to ramp up in early 2026 ahead of the house listing phase.
The last census was due in 2021 but was deferred due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Census 2027 will be the 16th in India’s history and the 8th after Independence, conducted under the Census Act, 1948.
Readers seeking official updates can refer to the Press Information Bureau and the Office of the Registrar General & Census Commissioner, India for authoritative documents and schedules.
