Cabinet clears Rs 11,718 cr for Census 2027; headcount to begin from April

New Delhi: The Union Cabinet on Friday approved Rs 11,718 crore for conducting the Census of India in 2027, marking the first time caste enumeration will be incorporated into the country’s official decadal count. The exercise will also be India’s first fully digital Census and will involve one of the largest data collection operations undertaken globally.

Information and Broadcasting Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, briefing reporters after the meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, said the decision sets in motion the 16th Census since Independence. He noted that the exercise would be carried out using digital tools to improve accuracy, reduce processing time and strengthen data security. “This will become the first ever digital census,” Vaishnaw said.

According to the minister, nearly 30 lakh enumerators will be deployed across the country, visiting every household to collect information through mobile applications designed for both Android and iOS platforms. The system will also allow citizens to opt for self-enumeration.

The use of handheld devices and the central monitoring portal, he said, is expected to contribute to better quality data.

The decadal Census, originally scheduled for 2021, was deferred due to the spread of COVID-19 nationwide. The new timetable sets house listing and housing Census activities between April and September 2026. Population Enumeration will follow in February 2027. For Ladakh and snow-bound non-synchronous areas of Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand, the Population Enumeration phase will be conducted in September 2026.

Vaishnaw said the digital infrastructure supporting the exercise is designed as a secure and comprehensive platform. “The entire digital census system has been created as a very robust system and all personal data protection laws will be applicable,” he stated. Micro-level information will be gathered at each household and later aggregated. “Individual data will be kept confidential while the macro-level data of the Census will be published,” he added.

The deployment of field personnel will generate substantial temporary employment. The minister said the participation of enumerators is expected to create 1.02 crore human days of work. A government statement added that 18,600 technical personnel will be hired for roughly 550 days at local levels and their engagement will also contribute to 1.02 crore man-days of employment. Officials suggested that the requirement for digital data handling, coordination and monitoring will offer capacity-building opportunities and may support future employment prospects for those hired.

The Census 2027 will, for the first time, record caste-related information electronically during the Population Enumeration phase. The last comprehensive caste count was conducted under British administration between 1881 and 1931. After Independence, caste enumeration was removed from Census operations. The decision to bring it back was taken by the Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs, chaired by the Prime Minister, on April 30. In 2010, then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh told the Lok Sabha that the matter of a caste Census would be considered at the cabinet level, but the UPA government later opted instead for the Socio-Economic and Caste Census, which functioned as a survey rather than a formal Census.

Under the newly approved framework, the government will introduce several technological innovations. A dedicated digital platform, the Census Management & Monitoring System, has been set up to oversee the entire process in real time. The portal will allow centralised supervision of enumeration progress and provide instant alerts when required. The initiative also includes the rollout of Census as a Service, which will deliver data to ministries in clean, machine-readable formats to improve policy planning.

According to officials, data dissemination will be faster than in previous rounds. “Data dissemination will be much better and in a user-friendly way so that all queries on required parameters for policymaking will be available with a click of a button,” Vaishnaw said. The government added that efforts would be made to release results quickly and provide visualisation tools tailored to various users. Data sharing is expected to extend down to the village and ward levels.

The statement said the introduction of the house listing block creator web map application will help charge officers during the preparatory phase. Authorities expect this to support field work by offering geospatial mapping tools that strengthen the accuracy of location-based information.

The Census remains the primary source of granular data on population characteristics in India, covering parameters that include housing conditions, amenities and assets, demographic trends, religion, Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, language, literacy, economic activity, migration and fertility. The upcoming round is expected to play a significant role in assessing development needs and addressing disparities once processed data is made available.

The population of India at the time of the 2011 Census stood at 1,210.19 million. Of this figure, 623.72 million were males accounting for 51.54 per cent and 586.46 million were females accounting for 48.46 per cent. The 2027 exercise is expected to provide revised population totals and new insights based on digital collection methods.

All Census personnel will receive honorariums in addition to their regular salaries, as noted in the government’s statement. The ministry expects the digital approach to streamline work and reduce delays that have historically affected tabulation and release timelines. Vaishnaw underlined that data collection through mobile applications and the central monitoring portal forms the foundation of the new approach. “Use of a mobile app for data collection and the central portal for monitoring purposes will ensure better quality data,” he said.

With Cabinet approval secured and preparations underway, the government is now set to initiate the country’s largest administrative and statistical operation using a fully digital platform for the first time.