India's 1st all-digital census kicks off in 2026
India is rolling out its first all-digital census, with housing data collection from April to September 2026 and population enumeration beginning in February 2027 (with a reference date of March 1, 2027, in most of India; earlier in some Himalayan regions).
Around 3.4 million enumerators will use their own smartphones and a multilingual app—so everything happens faster and more smoothly.
Self-enumeration option
For the first time, you'll be able to fill out your own census info online through a secure portal, if you want.
The system uses GPS and geo-tagging to keep things accurate.
Faster results, better quality data
This is India's first census since 2011—and the first since 1931 to include caste data, which helps shape policies for education and government jobs.
Going digital should mean better quality data for India's massive population of 1.4 billion, plus less paperwork and faster results.