Roadmap for Census 2027 ready: First phase will start from April 1, 2026

New Delhi: The Central Government has announced the formal program regarding the upcoming Census of India (Census 2027). According to the notification issued by the Home Ministry, the first phase of this campaign will start from April 1, 2026 and will continue till September 30, 2026. These works will be completed during a period of thirty days in all the states and union territories of India. This will be the first such census in the country where digital mediums will be used instead of paper.

Population enumeration work will be done in the second phase. Persons will be counted in this. The second phase will take place in February 2027. However, in inaccessible and snowfall areas (Ladakh, Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal and Uttarakhand), this process will be completed only in September 2026. The notice issued by the Home Ministry further said, “There will also be an option for self-enumeration, which will be done over a period of fifteen days immediately before the commencement of the thirty-day door-to-door houselisting operation.”

What is houselisting?

In fact, houselisting is an important initial step in the census, by which every building and house is identified and counted. It collects basic data about the type of living space, materials used, amenities such as type of kitchen, methods of communication, transport and assets (TV, Internet).

What did the past houselisting data reveal?

In the last census of 2011, 58% of households reported that they had bathing facilities within their premises, while about half of the households had drainage connectivity, with two-thirds having open drainage and one-third having closed drainage. 61% of households have kitchen facilities, of which 55% are inside the premises and 6% are outside the premises. Two-thirds of households used wood/crop residues, cow dung cakes or coal, while 3% used kerosene.

In terms of communication methods, the use of television increased by 16% and the use of radio decreased accordingly. Less than 1 in 10 households had a computer or laptop, and only 3% had Internet access. The internet penetration rate in urban areas was 8%, while in rural areas it was less than 1%. 63% of households had telephone or mobile access.

Allocation of Rs 11,718.24 crore

In December 2025, the Union Cabinet approved the allocation of ₹11,718.24 crore for Census of India 2027. This announcement was made by Union Cabinet Minister Ashwini Vaishnav. Census 2027 will be India’s first census to be conducted digitally. The government had earlier said that the data collection would be done through mobile apps available on both Android and iOS platforms.

Latest India News