India Census 2027 will begin from April 1 with houselisting, fully digital data collection, self-enumeration and caste enumeration after 100 years.

India’s long-delayed Census 2027 will start with houselisting in April and include caste enumeration, digital data collection, and self-enumeration. The long-delayed decennial census in India is now formally back on schedule. One of the biggest administrative operations in the world officially began on Wednesday, January 7, 2026, when the Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India (RG&CCI) released the schedule for the first part of Census 2027.

The announcement states that the first phase, referred to as houselisting operations (HLO), will take place in all States and Union Territories from April 1 through September 30, 2026. The houselisting process will take place in each State over a 30-day period; State governments will notify each other of the precise dates.

Additionally, citizens will have the opportunity to engage through self-enumeration, which will be available for 15 days before door-to-door houselisting in each region begins.

To establish the foundation for the population count, houselisting

An essential prelude to the actual population count is the houselisting and housing census phase. According to a study, it entails a methodical survey of all homes, structures, and households in order to establish a validated framework for the second stage of the census.

“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,” said Registrar General Mrityunjay Kumar Narayan in the notification, providing clarification on the procedure.

The COVID-19 pandemic caused the full census, which was initially planned for 2021, to be postponed. The houselisting and housing census will now take place between April and September of 2026, while the population enumeration (PE) will take place in February of 2027.

After almost a century, caste enumeration will resume.

The reinstatement of caste enumeration, which will be recorded electronically during the population enumeration phase, is one of the most important features of Census 2027. This is the first time caste data has been gathered nationally since Independence.

Caste was not included in post-independence census attempts and was last thoroughly documented during the British-era censuses that took place between 1881 and 1931. On April 30, 2025, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs decided to reinstate caste enumeration.

The action is anticipated to have a significant impact on political discourse, welfare programs, and policy planning.

The First Completely Digital Census in India

India’s first census to be conducted entirely digitally is scheduled for 2027. Data will be gathered by about 30 lakh enumerators utilizing mobile apps that work with the iOS and Android operating systems. Data gathering will be managed by a central monitoring interface with the goal of enhancing precision, openness, and real-time oversight.

Except for Ladakh, places that are snow-bound, and non-synchronous portions of Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, and Uttarakhand, the reference date for the population enumeration has been set for March 1, 2027, at 0:00 a.m.

The Union Cabinet approved the Census 2027 on December 12, 2025, at an estimated expenditure of ₹11,718.2 crore. The government has pledged to make census data faster and easier to access once it is finished, enabling individuals, researchers, and policymakers to obtain information quickly via digital platforms.