NEW DELHI, Oct 30: India will undertake its next population census from January 25 to February 28, 2027, across most states and Union territories, with certain poll bound and snowaffected regions excluded from the scheduled exercise, the Registrar General of India (RGI) announced on Friday.
According to an official notification issued by Census Commissioner and RGI Mritunjay Kumar Narayan, March 1, 2027, at 00:00 hours will be considered the reference date for determining population figures.
The enumeration will take place during the specified period in all states and Union territories, except Manipur, Goa, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Uttarakhand and Ladakh, along with snow bound non-synchronous areas of Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir. The arrangements for Manipur will remain deferred until further notification.
A revisional round will subsequently be conducted between March 1 and March 5, 2027, to address any required corrections or omissions in the collected information.
Residents will also have the opportunity to participate through a self-enumeration facility from January 10 to January 24, 2027, ahead of the commencement of the door-to-door population count.
The exclusion of several states from the initial schedule comes amid preparations for Assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Punjab, Goa and Manipur, which are due early next year.
The upcoming exercise will be India’s eighth census since Independence and will be carried out in two phases. These will comprise the house-listing and housing census, followed by population enumeration.
Originally scheduled for 2021, the decennial census was postponed because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Union Cabinet has approved an allocation of Rs 11,718 crore for the massive nationwide exercise, which will provide updated demographic information for policy formulation and development planning.
The Centre had earlier postponed house-listing operations in Manipur for Census 2027, as stated in a notification issued by the Registrar General of India last month.
India’s most recent census was conducted in 2011, recording a population of approximately 1.21 billion. The figures included 62.32 crore males and 58.75 crore females, while the total number of households stood at 24.95 crore.
The 2027 census is expected to provide the country’s first comprehensive population count in 16 years, offering updated information on demographic changes across states and Union territories.