After 17 years, national census in India to begin in March 2027 | All you need to know

After a four-year delay, the national census, along with the caste enumeration exercise is likely to begin on March 1, 2027, according to government sources.

Reportedly, the preparations for the large-scale national census have been scheduled.

According to the sources, the Union government has set a tentative schedule for both population and caste census. The exercise is expected to begin across the country from March 1, 2027.

Meanwhile, in Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh and Uttarakhand, the process is likely to begin from October 2026.

In April, the Union government announced that caste-based enumeration will be part of the next Census. The decision came following a cabinet committee on political affairs chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

"The Modi government, committed to social justice, has taken a historic decision today," Home Minister Amit Shah said in an X post in Hindi.

He added that the decision will empower all economically and socially backward classes, promote inclusion and pave new paths for the progress of the deprived.

The country's population count has been conducted every 10 years since 1951, but the census work in 2021 could not be carried out due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Office of the Registrar General and Census Commissioner had prepared 31 questions to be asked to the citizens during the census exercise.

The census of India is recorded every decade, with the first one being held in 1872. The first census post-Independence was recorded in 1951 and the last one in 2011.

According to the 2011 data, India's total population was 121 crore, the sex ratio was 940 females per 1,000 males, the literacy rate was 74.04 per cent and the population growth was 17.64 per cent from 2001 to 2011.