The government on Wednesday notified phase one of Census 2027 - the country's next nationwide population count after 2011. The process will begin with house listing and housing census between April and September 2026, followed by population enumeration in 2027, according to the notification.

As per the notification, state governments and Union territories will carry out the first phase, called the House Listing and Housing Census, from April 1 to September 30, 2026. This phase will collect details about houses, living conditions and basic facilities such as water, toilets and electricity. It will not record information about people living in the houses.

In June last year, the government had announced that Census 2027 would be conducted in two phases. The second phase, known as population enumeration, will take place in February 2027. However, in Ladakh and snow-bound areas of Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand, the process will be conducted in advance by September 2026, due to harsh weather conditions.

During the population enumeration phase, officials will collect detailed information about every person in each household. This will include demographic, social, economic and cultural details. The reference date for Census 2027 has been fixed at midnight on March 1, 2027.

Govt has approved Rs 11,718 crore budget for census

The Union Cabinet has approved a budget of Rs 11,718 crore for the census exercise. India’s last full census was conducted in 2011. The 2021 census was postponed because of the Covid-19 pandemic, leading to a long gap in updated population data.

Data collection to be done digitally in Census 2027

Census 2027 will be historic in several ways. For the first time, data will be collected digitally using mobile applications. People will also be allowed to fill in their details through self-enumeration shortly before the house listing phase begins. Another major change is the collection of caste data, which has not been done at the national level since Independence.

30 lakh enumerators to work in the census exercise

Around 30 lakh enumerators will be involved in the exercise. Census 2027 will be the 16th census of India and the eighth since Independence. It will provide detailed village, town and ward-level data on housing, population, education, jobs, migration and living conditions, helping the government plan policies and allocate resources more effectively.