The Union Home Ministry has formally notified the timeline for the first phase of Census 2027. This phase involves the houselisting operation (house listing of houses and dwellings ...read more

The Union Home Ministry has formally notified the timeline for the first phase of Census 2027. This phase will involve houselisting operations, which will be completed between April 1, 2026, and September 30, 2026, within a 30-day period determined by each state and union territory.

The notification also adds a self-enumeration option, which will be available 15 days before the door-to-door enumeration begins. This will allow citizens to enter their information themselves through an app or portal.

This census is being conducted after the 2021 census was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic and will be completed in two phases. The first phase will be house listing and housing status, while the second phase will be the population count in February 2027. The reference date is midnight on March 1, 2027 (except in snow-covered areas, where it will be in September 2026).

For the first time, the entire census will be digital.

For the first time, the entire census will be digital.  Data collection will be done through a mobile app (both Android and iOS), and real-time monitoring will be done through the Census Management and Monitoring System (CMMS) portal. Approximately 3 million ground workers (mainly government teachers) will be involved.

Last year, the Cabinet approved the census at a cost of ₹11,718 crore. The census phase will also include caste-related information, a first for independent India.

The government has emphasized that data dissemination will be user-friendly and machine-readable, providing data to ministries through a census-based access service ( CaaS) . This will be the world's largest administrative exercise, providing crucial data for policymaking and development planning.

 PC:Jagran