NEW DELHI, June 16: The Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on Monday issued a formal notification announcing the commencement of India’s National Population Census in 2027. This marks a significant milestone, as the exercise will also include caste enumeration for the first time since Independence.
According to the Gazette notification released under the authority of Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India, Mritunjay Kumar Narayan, the reference date for the Census will be March 1, 2027, for most parts of the country. However, for the Union Territory of Ladakh and snow-bound, non-synchronous areas in Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, and Uttarakhand, the reference date has been set as 00:00 hours of October 1, 2026, considering logistical constraints in these regions.
The notification was issued under Section 3 of the Census Act, 1948, and supersedes the previous government notification dated March 26, 2019, with the exception of actions already taken under it.
This upcoming census, scheduled after repeated delays due to the COVID-19 pandemic and administrative challenges, will provide critical data for policy-making, welfare schemes, and governance, while the inclusion of caste data is expected to inform more targeted socio-economic initiatives.
The Census will be carried out by the Office of the Registrar General, India, under the MHA’s administrative framework, and will involve extensive fieldwork and digital data collection systems.
