In a major administrative decision with long-term implications for India’s governance and policy framework, the Union cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has approved an allocation of ₹11,718 crore for the conduct of Census 2027. The approval marks a key step towards reviving India’s decadal census exercise, which was last undertaken in 2011 and was deferred in 2021 due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The upcoming census will not only be the first fully digital enumeration in the nation’s history but will also include caste-based data collection, making it one of the most comprehensive demographic surveys ever conducted in India.

Union minister for Information Technology, Railways, and Information & Broadcasting, Ashwini Vaishnaw, briefed the media after the cabinet meeting. Describing the census as the world’s largest administrative and statistical operation, Vaishnaw emphasized its centrality in shaping India’s developmental planning, policy formulation, and public administration. He noted that India’s last census in 2011 was completed with a budget of ₹2,200 crore, and that the original estimate for the 2027 exercise was around ₹12,000 crore, aligning closely with the final approved figure.

A Two-Phase Execution Across 2026 and 2027

According to the schedule announced by the government, Census 2027 will be undertaken in two distinct phases spread over nearly a year. The first phase, the houselisting and housing census, will take place between April and September 2026. During this phase, enumerators will gather detailed information about the housing conditions, amenities, and assets of each household. These details form the foundation for planning infrastructure, welfare schemes, and urban-rural development strategies.

The second phase, known as population enumeration (PE), will be conducted in February 2027. This phase will focus on collecting demographic, socio-economic, cultural, and household-specific information for every individual in the country. The government has set March 1, 2027, as the reference date for the completion of data collection. Based on previous experience, officials estimate that it will take another two to three years after this date to compile, verify, analyze, and publish the data.

The ministry highlighted that the exercise will be coordinated in partnership with state governments, following the principles of cooperative federalism. States will have flexibility in determining precise dates within the stipulated period to accommodate local administrative and logistical considerations.

Digital Transformation of the Census

One of the landmark features of Census 2027 will be its transition into a fully digital format. Ashwini Vaishnaw underscored that adopting digital tools will enable faster processing of data, improved accuracy, and highly efficient dissemination. The government’s press statement detailed several technological enhancements, including the use of secure mobile applications for field data collection and a central monitoring portal to track progress in real time.

This digital transformation is expected to simplify the work of enumerators, reduce errors associated with manual entry, and streamline verification processes. The availability of machine-readable data is also expected to significantly enhance the speed at which planners, researchers, and ministries can utilize census information for policy decisions.

Employment Generation and Capacity Building

The government noted that the census will generate approximately 1.02 crore human-days of employment. Around 30 lakh field functionaries—mostly government school teachers appointed by state governments—will participate in the enumeration process alongside their regular duties. Additionally, nearly 18,600 technical personnel will be engaged at district, charge, and state levels for around 550 days to support the digital and monitoring infrastructure of the census.

This large-scale deployment of technical manpower is expected to build local expertise in data management, digital documentation, and administrative coordination. These individuals, the government emphasized, will gain skills that enhance their future employment prospects.

Caste Enumeration: A Significant Addition

Among the most important features of Census 2027 is the inclusion of caste data, which will be captured electronically during the population enumeration phase. This decision, approved by the cabinet committee on political affairs in April, marks a significant shift from previous census exercises, which did not record caste details other than those related to Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.

The move comes at a time when several states have launched or demanded caste-based surveys to refine welfare schemes, assess socio-economic deprivation, and update outdated estimates of caste populations. The inclusion of caste data in the national census is expected to influence future policies on affirmative action, welfare distribution, and resource allocation.

Foundation for Future Delimitation

The 2027 Census assumes even greater significance because it will directly influence the long-pending process of delimitation—reconfiguring Lok Sabha constituencies based on updated population data. Delimitation has been a sensitive subject in India due to demographic disparities between high-fertility northern states and low-fertility southern states. The census data will serve as the empirical foundation for this exercise, which is expected to shape the balance of political representation across states.

Given these implications, political observers anticipate extensive debate and scrutiny once the census results begin to emerge.

Preparatory Steps Already Underway

To ensure a smooth enumeration exercise, the Registrar General of India (RGI) has already carried out preparatory activities. A gazette notification signaling the commencement of census-related work was issued on June 16. Following this, the RGI conducted a pre-test to evaluate processes and technology solutions ahead of the main rollout. It has also issued six circulars to states and Union territories regarding the freezing of administrative boundaries—an essential step to ensure consistency in data collection.

Public Awareness and Nationwide Participation

The government has stated that Census 2027 will be accompanied by a comprehensive nationwide publicity campaign aimed at raising awareness, promoting inclusive participation, and ensuring that residents provide accurate and complete information. Emphasis will be placed on last-mile outreach, particularly in rural, remote, and marginalized communities. The objective is to safeguard the integrity of the data while reinforcing public trust in the census as a crucial national exercise.

Past Coverage and Future Outlook

The previous census in 2011 covered 640 districts, 7,935 towns, and more than 600,000 villages. The scale of coverage for Census 2027 is expected to be even larger due to population growth, expansion of urban areas, and changes in administrative boundaries over the last decade and a half.

With the formal approval of funding and the introduction of significant technological innovations, Census 2027 is poised to become one of the most transformative data-gathering endeavors in India’s history. Its findings will not only shape policies for the coming decade but also influence the structural design of India’s political and economic landscape for years to come.