Census 2027 Announced, Will Include Long-pending Caste Enumeration

Moneylife Digital Team 04 June 2025

Economy & Nation

The Union government announced that the long-awaited Population Census 2027 will be conducted in two phases, with an added emphasis on caste enumeration. This will be India’s first census in 16 years, following the postponement of the 2021 exercise due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Census 2027 will be critical in updating demographic, housing and socio-economic data that guides policy-making, planning, and governance at all levels. It is expected to inform decisions on education, health, employment, electoral boundaries, and targeted welfare schemes.

The move to include caste enumeration is being seen as a landmark policy shift that could reshape India's socio-political landscape in the coming years.

In a release, the Union ministry of home affairs (MHA) says that the reference date for the upcoming census will be 00:00 hours of 1 March 2027. However, for snow-bound and non-synchronous areas — such as the Union Territory (UT) of Ladakh and remote parts of Jammu & Kashmir (J&K), Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand, the reference date will be 00:00 hours of 1 October 2026.

A notification of intent for conducting the Census and caste enumeration will be published in the official gazette on 16 June 2025, as mandated under Section 3 of the Census Act, 1948, the MHA says.

India last conducted a census in 2011, which followed a two-phase structure — house listing operations (HLO) and population enumeration (PE). The planned Census 2021, originally scheduled for April 2020, was fully prepared but postponed indefinitely due to the global pandemic. The upcoming exercise will, thus, mark the first post-pandemic enumeration and is expected to address major demographic shifts and social dynamics.

Significantly, the 2027 Census will include a detailed caste count, a demand long voiced by political and social groups seeking data on other backward classes (OBCs) and other communities for more equitable policy-making and resource allocation.

While caste was last officially recorded in the 1931 census (apart from scheduled castes and scheduled tribes), the socio-economic and caste census (SECC) of 2011 was not made public in full due to data inconsistencies. The inclusion of caste enumeration in the upcoming census is expected to generate a rich database for social welfare planning, though it is also likely to spark political debates.

In line with historical precedent, the 2027 Census will be carried out in two stages:

Phase I – House Listing (tentative dates yet to be notified)
Phase II – Population Enumeration, with final data anchored to the reference date

The government has reiterated that the census will be conducted under the Census Act, 1948, and Census Rules, 1990, ensuring full legal backing for the exercise.

As in earlier years, special timelines have been devised for snow-bound regions. In 2011, enumeration in parts of J&K, Uttarakhand, and Himachal Pradesh was conducted in September with an 1st October reference date, a model that will be replicated in 2026 for the 2027 count.

As the world’s most populous nation gears up for its most complex data collection exercise, all eyes will be on the methodology, transparency and political impact of the census—especially in an era increasingly driven by data-centric governance.

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