Census 1st phase to begin on April 1
What's the story
The first phase of the India Census will commence on April 1, 2026, the government has announced. This time, an option for self-enumeration has been introduced wherein people can digitally submit their information during a 15-day window before the Houselisting and Housing Census begins in each state or union territory. Census 2027 is the 16th Census overall and the eighth after independence.
Security measures
Mritunjay Narayan says census data confidential
Registrar General of India and Census Commissioner Mritunjay Kumar Narayan clarified that self-enumeration is only for residents of India. He also announced that data centers have been declared "Critical Information Infrastructure" to ensure data security during the Census. Individual data collected will remain confidential and cannot be disclosed under any circumstances, including the Right to Information Act or court proceedings.
Census details
Phase I will be House Listing
"Phase I will be House Listing (HLO). This phase involves the collection of data on housing conditions, amenities available and assets possessed by households. No personal details are to be collected in this phase. This provides a frame for Phase 2 of the Census," Narayan said. "Phase 2 will be Population Enumeration (PE). In this phase, data related to various demographic, socio-cultural and economic parameters along with migration and fertility characteristics of individuals from each household will be collected."
Future plans
Dates for self-enumeration
He added that Delhi, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Goa, Karnataka, Sikkim, Odisha, Lakshadweep, and Mizoram have chosen April 1-15 for self-enumeration and April 16-May 15 for House Listing Census. "Gujarat, Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu will carry out self-enumeration from April 5 to 19, with House Listing from April 20 to May 19... In NCT Delhi (MCD Area), self-enumeration will be done from May 1 to 15 and House Listing from May 16 to June 14."