Centre Notifies Reference Dates For Caste Census In Two Phases
16 June 2025 3:00 PM
The Government of India has officially announced that the next census of the country's population will be conducted in two phases in 2026 and 2027, marking a significant update in the previously deferred exercise. Yesterday, the Union Home Minister, Amit Shah, posted on social media that the exercise will include caste enumeration for the first time.
In a notification issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs (Office of the Registrar General, India) and published in the Gazette of India, the Central Government stated, “In exercise of the powers conferred by section 3 of the Census Act, 1948 (37 of 1948), and in supersession of the notification of the Government of India in the Ministry of Home Affairs (Office of the Registrar General, India) number S.O. 1455(E), dated the 26th March, 2019 published in the Gazette of India, Extraordinary, Part II, section 3, sub-section (ii), dated the 28th March, 2019, except as respects things done or omitted to be done before such supersession, the Central Government hereby declares that a census of the population of India shall be taken during the year 2027.”
The notification, dated June 16, 2025 (S.O. 2681(E)), also clarifies the reference date for the census across different regions of the country. For most of India, “the reference date for the said census shall be 00.00 hours of the 1st day of March, 2027.”
However, in consideration of extreme climatic conditions in certain areas, an exception has been made for the Union territory of Ladakh, the snow-bound non-synchronous areas of Jammu and Kashmir, and the States of Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand, where “the reference date shall be 00:00 hours of the 1st day of October, 2026.”
This declaration supersedes the earlier notification (S.O. 1455(E) dated March 26, 2019), although it notes that it does not affect any actions already taken under the previous notification. The 2027 census will be India's first full decennial enumeration since 2011, as the originally scheduled 2021 census was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The notification was signed by Mritunjay Kumar Narayan, the Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India. Amit Shah posted on X yesterday, "Reviewed the preparations for the 16th Census with senior officials. Tomorrow, the gazette notification of the census will be issued. The census will include caste enumeration for the first time. As many as 34 lakh enumerators and supervisors and around 1.3 lakh census functionaries will conduct the operation with cutting-edge mobile digital gadgets".
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