New Delhi: The first phase of Census 2027-- houselisting operations-- will take place between April 1 and September 30 this year in all states and Union territories over a 30-day period specified by each state and UT, a government notification said on Wednesday.
There will also be an option for self-enumeration to be conducted in 15 days' time period just before the start of houselisting operations of 30 days, said the notification issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA).
The decadal exercise which was scheduled to take place in 2021 got postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The mammoth exercise to give a headcount of country's population will be conducted in two phases -- houselisting and housing census from April to September, 2026; and population enumeration (PE) in February 2027.
The houselisting and housing census systematically lists out all the structures, houses and households throughout the country for preparation of a sound frame for conduct of the population enumeration.
"...the Central government hereby declares that the houselisting operations of the Census of India 2027 shall take place between 1st April, 2026 and 30th September, 2026 in all states and Union territories during the period of 30 days specified by each state and Union territory.
"There shall also be an option for self-enumeration which shall be conducted in 15 days’ time period just before the start of house to house houselisting operations of 30 days," a notification issued by Registrar General of India and Census Commissioner Mrityunjay Kumar Narayan said.
The Census 2027 will also capture caste data electronically in the population enumeration phase, the government had said earlier.
The last comprehensive caste-based count was done by the Britishers between 1881 and 1931. Caste was excluded from all census operations conducted since Independence.
The decision to include caste enumeration in the upcoming census was taken by the Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on April 30 last year.
In the first ever digital Census, conducted by around 30 lakh enumerators, data will be collected using mobile applications that will be available for both Android as well as iOS versions to ensure better quality data.
The population of the country, according to Census 2011, was 1,210.19 million of which 623.72 million (51.54 per cent) were males and 586.46 million (48.46 per cent) were females.