New Delhi, June 4, 2025: The Ministry of Home Affairs on Wednesday announced that the next Population Census of India will be held in two phases starting March 1, 2027. For the first time, this full-scale Census will include caste enumeration—addressing a long-pending demand from multiple states and political parties.
The reference date for the Census will be October 1, 2026, specifically for Ladakh and the snow-bound, non-synchronous areas of Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, and Uttarakhand. A formal gazette notification under Section 3 of the Census Act, 1948, will be issued on June 16, 2025, officially declaring the Centre’s intent to carry out the population survey.
This marks India’s first full-fledged Census since 2011. The 2021 Census, originally scheduled in two phases—house listing from April to September 2020 and population enumeration in February 2021—was postponed indefinitely due to the COVID-19 pandemic, despite all preparations being completed.
The 2027 Census will replicate the two-phase structure of the 2011 exercise but will notably feature caste-based data collection. The inclusion of caste enumeration was approved by the Union Cabinet on April 30, 2025, in a decision chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Union I&B Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw had stated that the Census falls under the Central List, giving the Union Government the constitutional mandate to oversee it.
The upcoming exercise is expected to provide critical data for targeted welfare policies, caste-based reservations, and socio-economic planning.
