The Delayed Census 2027 to Include Caste

In an official notification issued to states and union territories, the Center has sought proposed changes in boundaries of agglomeration of cities, towns and villages before December 31, 2025. The Registrar General of India directed the states and UTs to re-define boundaries in their respective towns and villages for inclusion in the upcoming Census 2027.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah reviewed the preparation for the census with Union Home Secretary Govind Mohan, Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India Mritunjay Kumar Narayan, and other senior officials.

The census 2027 slated after 16 years since 2011 is a massive combined exercise between the state and the center which will include the caste census as well. The 8th census after independence will include about 34 lakh enumerators and supervisors, and around 1.3 lakh census functionaries armed with digital devices.

The census will be carried out from Oct 1, 2026 in the snow-bound areas and UTs like Ladakh and Jammu & Kashmir, and states like Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand. For the rest of the country, the massive exercise will begin from March 1, 2027, the notification reads.

The oncoming largest-ever caste-inclusive census – delayed by six years – is expected to cost the government over Rs. 13,000 crore for collection of population-related data from across the country.

Article 246 of the Constitution defines census as a subject listed at 69 in the Union List in the 7th Schedule.

The census is the primary source of data collection from every section of the society for enumeration of population data. The last census was conducted in 2011 and the population figure stood at 122 crore at the time. The next census was due on 2021, but owing to the COVID-19 Pandemic, the decadal activity came to naught.