The Union Budget 2026 allocates Rs 6,000 crore for Census 2027, delayed as a result of Covid-19. The two-phase train will cowl houselisting and inhabitants enumeration, together with caste enumeration, with digital gadgets and self-enumeration choices for residents.
Published Date – 1 February 2026, 06:08 PM
New Delhi: The Union Budget on Sunday allotted Rs 6,000 crore for Census 2027, with the sixteenth version of the mega inhabitants head rely slated to start on April 1 after a delay of just about six years due to the Covid outbreak.
The Budget Estimates for 2026-27 introduced in Parliament by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman earmarked Rs 6,000 crore for the Census, Survey and Statistics/Registrar General of India (RGI), which is nearly a six-fold enhance from the Rs 1,040 crore allotted within the Revised Estimates for 2025-26.
“It includes provisions for the office of the Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India and various schemes of the RGI, including the National Population Register (NPR) and expenditure on Census 2027,” the Budget doc mentioned.
The Census shall be carried out in 2027 with the reference date of October 1, 2026, in snow-bound areas like Ladakh, and of March 1, 2027, in the remainder of the nation.
“The reference date for the said Census shall be 00.00 hours of the first 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,” a authorities notification mentioned final 12 months.
In respect of Ladakh and the snow-bound non-synchronous areas, the reference date shall be 00:00 hours of the primary day of October 2026, it mentioned.
The large train to gather population-related information from throughout the nation shall be carried out by about 30 lakh enumerators and supervisors and round 1.3 lakh census functionaries armed with digital gadgets.
The decadal train, which was scheduled to happen in 2021, was postponed as a result of Covid-19 outbreak.
The Census, which will even embody caste enumeration this time, is a two-phase train – in Phase-1, i.e., Houselisting Operation (HLO), the housing situations, belongings and facilities of every family shall be collected.
In Phase -2, i.e., Population Enumeration (PE), the demographic, socio-economic, cultural and different particulars of each individual in every family shall be collected, which is scheduled for February 1, 2027.
The Caste enumeration will happen in the course of the second section on the time of Population Enumeration, the Union Home Ministry lately mentioned.
With many firsts deliberate for Census 2027 – totally digital, possibility of self-enumeration, and so forth. – the Cabinet had allotted Rs 11,718 crore for the train.
The Registrar General of India has notified 33 questions that shall be put to residents in the course of the first section of the Census – home itemizing and housing census.
The home itemizing operations will happen throughout a window of 30 days, specified by every State and UT between April 1 and September 30 this 12 months.
There will even be an possibility for self-enumeration to be performed in 15 days, simply earlier than the beginning of the housing itemizing operations of 30 days.
The housing itemizing and housing census systematically lists out all of the constructions, homes and households all through the nation for the preparation of a sound body for the conduct of the inhabitants enumeration. PTI
In respect of Ladakh and the snow-bound non-synchronous areas, the reference date shall be 00:00 hours of the primary day of October 2026, it mentioned.
The large train to gather population-related information from throughout the nation shall be carried out by about 30 lakh enumerators and supervisors and round 1.3 lakh census functionaries armed with digital gadgets.
The decadal train, which was scheduled to happen in 2021, was postponed as a result of Covid-19 outbreak.
The Census, which will even embody caste enumeration this time, is a two-phase train – in Phase-1, i.e., Houselisting Operation (HLO), the housing situations, belongings and facilities of every family shall be collected.
In Phase -2, i.e., Population Enumeration (PE), the demographic, socio-economic, cultural and different particulars of each individual in every family shall be collected, which is scheduled for February 1, 2027.
The Caste enumeration will happen in the course of the second section on the time of Population Enumeration, the Union Home Ministry lately mentioned.
With many firsts deliberate for Census 2027 – totally digital, possibility of self-enumeration, and so forth. – the Cabinet had allotted Rs 11,718 crore for the train.
The Registrar General of India has notified 33 questions that shall be put to residents in the course of the first section of the Census – family itemizing and housing census.
The housing itemizing operations will happen throughout a window of 30 days, specified by every state and UT between April 1 and September 30 this 12 months.
There will even be an possibility for self-enumeration to be performed in 15 days, simply earlier than the beginning of the housing itemizing operations of 30 days.
The housing itemizing and housing census systematically listing out all of the constructions, homes and households all through the nation for the preparation of a sound body for the conduct of the inhabitants enumeration.
