Census & Demography

India has counted its people every ten years since 1881. The 2021 Census was the first to miss that schedule, delayed by COVID-19 and then held back for years. India spent over a decade planning on 2011 numbers.

In 2025 the government notified the next Census, with a reference date of 1 March 2027 (1 October 2026 for Ladakh and snow-bound areas); a September 2026 notification set 5 January 2027 for Goa, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab and non-snow-bound Uttarakhand. It will be India's first fully digital census — and, for the first time since 1931, it will count caste beyond the SC/ST categories.

The count runs in two phases: houselisting (mapping every dwelling and its amenities), then population enumeration (counting every person). Enumerators use a mobile app, and households can opt to self-enumerate online — a major shift from paper schedules — with a total outlay of about Rs 11,718 crore.

Census data underpins almost everything: how many seats a state gets, where welfare and infrastructure go, and — eventually — the delimitation of constituencies and women's reservation. Fresh, granular data lets planning match reality instead of a 15-year-old snapshot.

1 March 2027 — main Census reference date. Rs 11,718.24 crore approved outlay. 142.3 crore — projected population on 1 March 2026. Two phases — houselisting, then population count. First digital census, with self-enumeration. First caste count since 1931. Sources: Registrar General of India, National Commission on Population, PIB.