 "Census officials collect details from village women during first phase of the census at Hatkhuwapara Village, near the northeastern Indian city of Guwahati April 1, 2010 for the 2011 census. (Photo: Reuters)")
The Union government said in a notification on Monday that it will start the census on October 1, 2026. It will be conducted in two phases.
The first phase will start for Ladakh and snow-bound areas of Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, and Uttarakhand, on October 1, 2026. The second phase for the rest of the country will start on March 1, 2027.
The last census was conducted in 2011. As the Covid-19 pandemic raged at the time of next scheduled census in 2021, the upcoming census will be held five years after schedule.
The Census 2027 will be significant as the Narendra Modi government has decided to include caste data in it . This has fulfilled the longstanding demand of ‘caste census’ made by several communities and Opposition parties.
In the 2024 election, the issue of caste census was the main electoral platform of Congress and its leader Rahul Gandhi.
Making the announcement in April, Union minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said that the inclusion of caste in ensus would strengthen the social and economic structure of India.
“Under the leadership of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, the Cabinet Committee of Political Affairs has decided today, that is 30th April 2025, that caste enumeration should be included in the forthcoming Census. This demonstrates that a government is committed to the values and interests of a society and country. This is unlike in the past when a government had introduced 10 per cent reservation for the economically weaker sections (EWS) of the society without causing any stress in any section of the society,” said Vaishnaw.