16th Census to be Held in Two Phases Beginning from 1st October, 2026

The Union Ministry of Home Affairs issued the notification for 16th Census (Population Census-2027) to be conducted in two phases along with the enumeration of castes. The reference date for Population Census-2027 will be 00:00 hours of the first day of March 2027. For the Union Territory of Ladakh and the non-synchronous snow-bound areas of the UT of Jammu and Kashmir and States of Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand, the reference date will be 00.00 hours of the first day of October 2026.

It will be India's first digital Census (using mobile applications) and will include an enumeration of castes for the first time in Independent India. Very stringent data security measures would be kept in place to ensure data security at the time of collection, transmission and storage. It will be the sixth national Census since its inception and the eighth since India's independence.

The phase one is House listing Operation, in which the housing conditions, assets and amenities of each household will be collected. In the second phase which is Population Enumeration, the demographic, socio-economic, cultural and other details of every person in each household will be collected. In this Census, Caste enumeration will also be done. For Census activities, about 34 lakh enumerators and supervisors and around 1-3 lakh Census functionaries will be deployed.

Cabinet approves Caste enumeration in the upcoming Census

Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has decided to include caste enumeration in the upcoming census. This demonstrates that the present government is committed to the holistic interests and values of the nation and society.

As per Article 246 of the Constitution of India, Census is a union subject listed at 69 in the Union List in the Seventh Schedule. While some states have conducted surveys to enumerate castes, these surveys have varied in transparency and intent, with some conducted purely from a political angle, creating doubts in society. Considering all these circumstances, and to ensure that our social fabric does not come under political pressure, it has been decided that caste enumeration should be included in the main census instead of being conducted as a separate survey.

This will ensure that society becomes stronger economically and socially, and the country’s progress continues without hindrance. It is noteworthy that when a provision of 10 percent reservation was made for the economically weaker sections of society, it did not create tension in any section of society.

Caste was excluded from all census operations conducted since independence. In 2010, then Prime Minister Late Dr. Manmohan Singh assured the Lok Sabha that the matter of caste census would be considered in the Cabinet. A Group of Ministers was formed to deliberate on this subject, and most political parties recommended conducting a caste census. Despite this, the previous government opted for a survey instead of a caste census, known as the Socio-Economic and Caste Census (SECC).