Srinagar, June 16 (KNS): The Government of India has officially announced that the next national census will be conducted in 2027, ending a prolonged hiatus since the last enumeration exercise in 2011.
The notification, issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs through the Office of the Registrar General of India, was published in the Gazette of India on June 16, 2025.
The upcoming census, mandated under the Census Act of 1948, will mark the 16th decennial population enumeration of the country. It had been previously scheduled for 2021 but was indefinitely deferred due to the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent administrative delays.
According to the notification (S.O. 2681(E)), the reference date for the census across most of India will be 00:00 hours on March 1, 2027. However, for the Union Territory of Ladakh, and snow-bound non-synchronous regions of Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, and Uttarakhand, the reference date will be 00:00 hours on October 1, 2026, owing to seasonal constraints in those areas.
The new order supersedes the earlier notification dated March 26, 2019, which had originally laid down the procedural framework for Census 2021.Click Here To Follow Our WhatsApp Channel
The government said that any actions or processes carried out under the 2019 notification prior to its supersession would remain valid.
This announcement sets in motion the preparatory process for what is considered the world’s largest administrative exercise. The census will provide comprehensive data on population size, demographic distribution, socio-economic indicators, and housing conditions data that is critical for policy-making, development planning, and resource allocation.
With the dates now officially declared, the Centre is expected to mobilize resources and initiate training and digital enumeration modules for field officers and supervisors in the months ahead.
The census is also likely to employ digital technology and geo-referenced data collection methods for the first time on a full scale. The 2027 enumeration will be closely watched for its implications on political representation, welfare schemes, and economic planning especially after a 16-year gap since the last population count.(KNS)