Census 2027: Centre notifies first phase, house listing to begin April 1

The House Listing and Housing Census will precede population enumeration and focus on housing conditions and amenities, with the exercise scheduled across states and UTs in 2026

The government on Wednesday notified the first phase of the Census of India 2027, stating that the house listing and housing census will be carried out between April 1 and September 30, 2026, across all states and Union Territories.

  The notification was issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs through the Office of the Registrar General, India, and published in The Gazette of India (Extraordinary).

 

It states that the first phase of the census – known as the House Listing and Housing Census (HLO) – will precede the population count and focus on housing conditions and amenities, not individuals.

 

“The houselisting operations for the Census of India 2027 shall take place between April 1, 2026 and September 30, 2026 in all states and Union Territories,” the notification said.

 

It added that the exercise will not run continuously for six months but will be conducted over a 30-day period to be decided separately by each state and Union Territory.

 

“There shall be a period of thirty days specified by each state and Union Territory,” the notification read. 

Option for self-enumeration

The government has also introduced a self-enumeration window ahead of the house-to-house exercise.

 

“There shall also be an option for self-enumeration, which shall be conducted in a fifteen-day time period just before the start of house-to-house houselisting operations,” the gazette stated.

 

This provision allows households to submit details digitally before enumerators visit.

Legal basis and scope

The notification was issued under the powers conferred by Sections 3 and 17A of the Census Act, 1948, read with the Census Rules, 1990, and supersedes the earlier notification dated January 7, 2020.

 

It clarified that the first phase would record details of houses, assets and basic amenities, while personal data would be collected later.

Second phase in 2027

The second phase – Population Enumeration (PE) – will be conducted in February 2027, during which demographic, socio-economic and cultural details of every individual will be collected.

 

However, for Ladakh and snow-bound regions of Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand, population enumeration will take place earlier, in September 2026, due to climatic conditions.

Budget and reference date

The Union Cabinet has approved an outlay of Rs 11,718 crore for conducting the census. The last nationwide census was carried out in 2011, with the 2021 exercise deferred due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

 

The government has confirmed that the reference date for Census 2027 will be 00:00 hours on March 1, 2027.