Govt announces new dates for population census; first phase to begin in 2026

The Ministry of Home Affairs has announced the new dates for the process of population census, which will be conducted in two phases. The ministry stated that the population census process would be undertaken in 2026 and 2027.

The population census will begin on October 1, 2026, for the Union territories of Ladakh, Jammu and Kashmir, and the states of Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand.For the rest of the country the census will begin on March 1, 2027. 

“The reference date for the said census shall be 00.00 hours of the 1 day of March, 2027, except for the Union territory of Ladakh and snow-bound non-synchronous areas of the Union territory of Jammu and Kashmir and the States of Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand. In respect of the Union territory of Ladakh and snow-bound non-synchronous areas of the Union territory of Jammu and Kashmir and the States of Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand, the reference date shall be 00:00 hours of the 1 day of October, 2026,” stated the government. 

About 34 lakh enumerators and supervisors along with around 1.3 lakh census functionaries equipped with digital devices will carry out the massive exercise to collect population-related data from across the country. The census will also include caste enumeration, according to a government statement. 

Additionally, provision for self-enumeration will be made available to the public.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah reviewed the census preparations with Union Home Secretary, Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India Mritunjay Kumar Narayan, and other senior officials on Sunday.

The census will be conducted in two phases. The first phase, known as the Houselisting Operation (HLO), will gather information about housing conditions, assets, and amenities of each household. The second phase, called Population Enumeration (PE), will collect demographic, socio-economic, cultural, and other details of every person in each household.

This is the 16th census since the exercise began and the eighth after Independence, the government statement said.

Strict data security measures will be implemented to ensure the safety of data during collection, transmission, and storage, the statement added.