- Union Cabinet approved Rs 11,728 crore for Census 2027, a two-phase exercise starting 2026
- Census 2027 will be the 16th in series, largest administrative and statistical exercise globally
- Phase 1 (April-Sept 2026) covers house listing; Phase 2 (Feb 2027) covers population enumeration
The Union Cabinet on Friday approved a financial outlay of Rs 11,728 crore for Census 2027, which will be a two-phased exercise starting from next year.
The upcoming census will be 16th in the series as the last Census took place in 2011 and the eighth one after Independence. The cost estimate of Census 2027 was Rs 11,718 crore and this is set to be the largest administrative and statistics exercise in the world.
The process is slated to be completed in two phases, with the reference date set as Mar. 1. 2027 at 12 a.m.
The first phase will be house listing and housing census which will be done April through September 2026. And the second phase will be population enumeration which will take place in February 2027. For the Union Territory of Ladakh and snow bound non-synchronous areas of UT of Jammu and Kashmir and states of Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand, PE shall be conducted in September, 2026.
The exact dates of Phase 1 is yet to be decided after discussion with states, and it will focus on housing conditions, amenities, vehicles, electricity connections. The second phase will focus on demographic, socio-cultural, economic parameters.
The Details on age, caste, social status, occupation, fertility, languages will be taken in the second phase. The eevisional rounds are scheduled to be conducted after the primary data collection.
In the first ever digital census, the data will be collected through apps in English, Hindi and various other languages. For the process, a Census Monitoring and Management System portal will be created.
Houselisting Block creator web map app will also used for this census and self enumeration option will be provided as well. Census-as-a-service will deliver on-demand data to ministries, and provide machine-readable data for planning, formulation of policies.
About 30 lakh field functionaries will be involved in Census, 1.02 crore human-days employment will be generated. The enumerators, generally government teachers and appointed by the State Governments, will be doing the field work of Census in addition to their regular duties. Other Census functionaries at Sub-district, District and State levels will also be appointed by the State or District Administration.
Registrar General Of India Asks States To Appoint Census Functionaries By January 15, 2026Essential Business Intelligence, Continuous LIVE TV, Sharp Market Insights, Practical Personal Finance Advice and Latest Stories — On NDTV Profit.
