The Central Government has announced the dates for the long-awaited National Census (Census 2027). The nationwide population enumeration will be conducted between January 25 and February 28, 2027. The last population census in India was held in 2011, exactly 15 years ago.

Key Dates

Self-Enumeration: January 10 to January 24, 2027

House-to-House Enumeration: January 25 to February 28, 2027

Reference Date: Midnight 00:00 hours of March 1, 2027

Revision Phase: March 1 to March 5, 2027

Excluded States and Territories

According to the notification issued by Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India, Mritunjay Kumar Narayan, certain states and regions have been excluded from this schedule due to administrative and geographical conditions:

Manipur (until further notice)

Goa

Uttar Pradesh

Punjab

Uttarakhand

Ladakh

Snow-bound areas of Himachal Pradesh and Jammu & Kashmir

Census operations in all other states and Union Territories will proceed according to the scheduled timeframe.

Legal Framework

The national census is conducted under the legal framework of the 'Census Act, 1948' and the 'Census Rules, 1990'. The government has already released the list of questions to be asked during the upcoming enumeration drive.

Why Was the 2021 Census Postponed?

The 2021 Census was originally planned in two phases: the first phase from April to September 2020 and the second phase in February 2021. Fieldwork was scheduled to begin on April 1, 2020, with all preparations completed. However, the entire process was postponed indefinitely due to the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic.