The Government of India has announced that the Population Census 2027 will be conducted in two distinct phases, and for the first time, it will be accompanied by a nationwide enumeration of castes.
According to the press release, the reference date for the 2027 Census will be 00:00 hours on March 1, 2027. However, for snow-bound and non-synchronous areas — including the Union Territory of Ladakh and select regions in Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, and Uttarakhand — the reference date will be 00:00 hours on October 1, 2026.
The formal notification of intent to conduct the census with these reference dates is expected to be published in the Official Gazette on June 16, 2025, as per Section 3 of the Census Act, 1948.
The Census of India, governed by the Census Act, 1948, and the Census Rules, 1990, was last successfully conducted in 2011. The 2021 Census was prepared and scheduled to be held in two phases — April–September 2020 for House Listing, and February 2021 for Population Enumeration. However, it was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The upcoming 2027 Census is expected to mark a major statistical and social milestone with the inclusion of caste data, which has been a long-standing demand across various political and social platforms.
