Key Points
- world’ s largest-ever population count within a single national geography
- marks the eighth decennial census since Independence
- overdue by 15 years due to COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent general elections.
- Conducted under the legal provisions of the Census Act, 1948 and the Census Rules, 1990
- the operation is executed by the Office of the Registrar General and Census Commissioner, India (ORGI) under Ministry of Home Affairs.
- The Constitution places "Census" as a Union Subject under Entry 69 of the Seventh Schedule
- Census 2027 -> nation's first entirely digital census
- integrating real time monitoring and public self-enumeration
Operational Roadmap & Phases
happens in two primary sequential phases
Phase 1: House listing & Housing Census (April – September 2026)
- Focuses on identifying and mapping every structure
- Canvasses a comprehensive questionnaire covering housing conditions, available household amenities, and assets.
- Divides geographic regions into compact operational units called House listing Blocks (HLBs), each catering to approximately 700 to 800 individuals.
Phase 2: Population Enumeration (February 2027)
- Captures individual-specific demographic data, including age, sex, marital status, literacy, education, economic activity, migration, and fertility.
Timeline Variations: In snow-bound, non-synchronous geographic zones (such as Ladakh, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, and parts of Jammu & Kashmir), population enumeration timelines are adjusted ahead to the preceding autumn (September) to counter winter accessibility constraints.