The Union Budget 2026–27 has earmarked Rs 6,000 crore for Census 2027, nearly six times higher than last year’s revised allocation.
The 16th Census, delayed by six years due to Covid-19, will begin on April 1 and include caste enumeration for the first time.
The fully digital exercise will involve around 30 lakh enumerators, with self-enumeration and phased data collection through 2027.
The Union Budget on Sunday allocated Rs 6,000 crore for Census 2027, with the 16th edition of the mega population head count slated to begin on April 1 after a delay of almost six years because of the Covid outbreak.
The Census, Survey and Statistics/Registrar General of India (RGI) was allocated Rs 6,000 crore in the Budget Estimates for 2026–2027 that Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman submitted to Parliament. This is nearly a six-fold increase from the Rs 1,040 crore allocated in the Revised Estimates for 2025–2026.
“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 document said.
The Census will 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 rest of the country. “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 government notification said last year.
It stated that the reference date for Ladakh and the snow-bound non-synchronous locations will be 00:00 on October 1, 2026.
The massive exercise to collect population-related data from across the country will be carried out by about 30 lakh enumerators and supervisors and around 1.3 lakh census functionaries armed with digital devices.
The COVID-19 pandemic forced the postponement of the decadal exercise, which was originally planned for 2021.
The census is a two-phase process that will include caste enumeration this time. Phase 1, or the Houselisting Operation (HLO), will gather information about each household's assets, amenities, and housing conditions.
Every individual in every household will have their demographic, socioeconomic, cultural, and other information gathered during Phase 2, also known as Population Enumeration (PE), which is set for February 1, 2027. According to a recent statement from the Union Home Ministry, the caste enumeration will occur during the second phase of the population enumeration.
The Cabinet has set up Rs 11,718 crore for the Census 2027, which is expected to have numerous firsts, such as being entirely digital and allowing self-enumeration.
The 33 questions that will be asked of people during the first part of the census—the housing census and houselisting—have been announced by the Indian Registrar General.
There will also be an option to conduct self-enumeration 15 days before the start of the 30-day houselisting operations.
The housing listing and housing census systematically list all structures, houses, and households throughout the country to provide a sound framework for the conduct of the population enumeration.
