Census 2027: Big changes ahead with 33 new data points
India's next census is rolling out in two phases starting April 2026, and it's going deeper than ever.
Officials will collect info on everything from what your house is made of to how many people live there, details about the head of the household, assets like TVs and laptops, and—importantly—some caste information:
Phase I (house-listing, April-September 2026) will ask only whether the head of the household is Scheduled Caste, Scheduled Tribe or other, while detailed individual-level caste enumeration is scheduled for the Population Enumeration in the second phase around February 2027.
Why does this matter?
For the first time, much of that data will be collected digitally through mobile apps and other digital tools, with paper and offline options as backups.
The idea is to use this detailed info to shape future policies on reservations and welfare schemes.
Don't want to share your caste? You can opt out. Your mobile number will only be used for census communication—no spam promises!