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Census 2027 begins: President Murmu, PM Modi among leaders completing self-enumeration

April 01, 2026 4 min read Polity & Governance Social Issues GS Paper 1 GS Paper 2
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What Happened

  • India's Census 2027 officially launched on April 1, 2026, with the first-ever self-enumeration phase allowing citizens to submit their own demographic data online before enumerators visit.
  • President Droupadi Murmu, Vice President C.P. Radhakrishnan, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and Union Home Minister Amit Shah were among the first to complete self-enumeration, marking a symbolic launch.
  • The self-enumeration window runs from April 1–15, 2026; the House Listing and Housing Census phase follows from April 16 to May 15, 2026, with the main population enumeration planned in 2027.
  • This is India's first fully digital census — approximately 32 lakh field workers (enumerators and supervisors) will use mobile devices to collect data, replacing the earlier paper-based system.
  • For the first time in India's census history, caste enumeration (including OBC data) will be included in the Population Enumeration phase, following a Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs decision in April 2025.
  • The Union Cabinet approved the census scheme at a total cost of ₹11,718.24 crore.

Static Topic Bridges

The census in India is conducted under the Census Act, 1948 — a pre-Constitutional law piloted by Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, then Home Minister. It mandates the collection of data on population, housing, and socio-economic conditions. Under the Constitution, "Census" is listed in the Union List (Entry 69 of the Seventh Schedule), making it an exclusive Central subject. The Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India (under the Ministry of Home Affairs) is the nodal authority for conducting the census.

  • India's first synchronous census was conducted in 1881; censuses have been held every 10 years since without interruption (except the 2021 census, delayed to 2027 due to COVID-19).
  • Census 2021 was postponed repeatedly; Census 2027 will be the first conducted after a 16-year gap since the 2011 Census.
  • Self-enumeration facility is available in 16 languages through a secure online portal; each household generates a unique Self-Enumeration ID verified during the enumerator's visit.

Connection to this news: The April 1 launch of self-enumeration marks the operational start of India's most delayed census, introducing a participatory digital model that replaces the traditional door-to-door paper method entirely.

Caste Census and OBC Enumeration

A caste-based census has not been conducted in India since 1931 (by British India). Independent India has consistently excluded caste data (except for SC/ST) from official census records, relying instead on the Socio-Economic Caste Census (SECC) of 2011 for welfare targeting. The inclusion of OBC caste data in Census 2027 marks a historic policy reversal driven by political pressures and the need for evidence-based reservations policy.

  • Caste enumeration in Census 2027 will happen in the Population Enumeration (PE) phase — not the House Listing phase starting April 2026.
  • The decision to include caste data was approved by the Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs (CCPA) in April 2025.
  • Accurate OBC data is seen as essential for implementing sub-categorisation of OBC reservations (following the Supreme Court's 2024 ruling in Pankaj Kumar Thakur v. State of Punjab).

Connection to this news: The Census 2027 launch is not just a data-collection exercise — the inclusion of caste enumeration makes it a politically and constitutionally significant event that will shape reservations policy and delimitation.

Delimitation and Census Data: The 2029 Connection

Census data is the constitutional basis for delimitation — the periodic redrawing of Lok Sabha and state assembly constituency boundaries under Article 82. The Constitution's 84th Amendment (2001) froze the number of Lok Sabha seats at 543 until the first census after 2026, making Census 2027 the trigger for the next delimitation exercise. The delimitation will determine seat distribution among states based on updated population figures.

  • A Delimitation Commission under Article 82 is expected to be constituted by June 2026 to use 2027 census data.
  • The Women's Reservation Act (Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam, 2023) is also linked to delimitation — it takes effect only after delimitation based on the first census post-2026.
  • Southern states, which have better controlled population growth, fear losing seats to more populous northern states under a fresh delimitation.

Connection to this news: The launch of Census 2027 sets in motion the countdown for delimitation and the operationalisation of women's reservation — two of the most consequential political exercises in decades.

Key Facts & Data

  • Census 2027 cost: ₹11,718.24 crore (approved by Union Cabinet)
  • Field workforce: approximately 32 lakh enumerators and supervisors
  • Self-enumeration window: April 1–15, 2026 (15-day window per state, preceding the house-listing phase)
  • House Listing and Housing Census: April 16 – May 15, 2026
  • Population Enumeration (main count): 2027
  • Online portal available in 16 languages; generates a unique Self-Enumeration ID per household
  • Census is a Union List subject (Entry 69, Seventh Schedule)
  • Legal basis: Census Act, 1948
  • Last census conducted: 2011 (a 16-year gap to 2027)
  • First synchronous census: 1881 (W.C. Plowden, Census Commissioner)
  • First caste-based census data since 1931 will be collected in 2027