Page 2 - Census

Scope for adding 7.9 million more beneficiaries under food law: Govt in RS

States can add 79 lakh more beneficiaries under the National Food Security Act that provides legal entitlement of foodgrains, the Centre said on Tuesday. The National Food Security Act (NFSA), which was passed by the Parliament in 2013, provides for coverage of up to 75 per cent of rural population and up to 50 per cent of urban population. This covers about two-thirds of the total population of the country, which comes to 81.35 crore based on Census 2011, the government said in a written reply to Rajya Sabha. "At present, against the intended coverage of 81.35 crore, the States/UTs have identified only 80.56 crore persons. Still, there is a scope of identification of 0.79 crore more beneficiaries under the NFSA," said Nimuben Jayantibhai Bambhaniya, Minister of State for Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution. She informed that Section 9 of the Act provides that the total number of persons to be covered in rural and urban areas of the State should be calculated on the basi

In a first, citizens will be able to self-enumerate during upcoming census

A special dedicated web portal will be launched for self-enumeration during the upcoming Census, which will be available for both phases of the national enumeration exercise, officials said Monday. In the country's first digital census, enumerators will collect the data of citizens using mobile applications on their Android and Apple phones, they said. It will also be the first time in the country that citizens will get a chance to self-enumerate through a dedicated web portal which will be available for both the phases of Census - Houselisting and Housing Census (HLO) and Population Enumeration. "Digital Census initiative is a transformational step towards modernising the Census process. For the first time, technology will be used to collect data and send it electronically to the central server. This will result in early availability of Census data," an official said. Very stringent data security measures would be kept in place to ensure data security at the time of collection, ..

Boundaries of administrative units to be frozen on Dec 31, 2025 for Census

The Centre has asked states and Union Territories to make any proposed changes in the boundaries of administrative units before December 31, when they will be considered final for the census exercise. In a letter to all states and Union Territories, Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India Mritunjay Kumar Narayan has said that for the Census, all villages and towns are divided into uniform enumeration blocks and for each block, an enumerator is assigned to avoid any miss or repetition during the population count. According to norms, the Census can be conducted only three months after the freezing of boundary limits of administrative units such as districts, sub-districts, tehsils, talukas and police stations. Narayan said from April 1, 2026, the Houselisting Operation, the appointment of supervisors and enumerators and the work division among them will be done, and on February 1, 2027, the Census of the population will begin. It is important that once enumeration blocks

Nitish Kumar urges Bihar residents to thank PM Modi for caste census

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Friday expressed gratitude to Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the announcement of the caste census and urged the people of the state to do the same. The JD(U) supremo was sharing the stage with the PM in Siwan district, where Modi launched 28 development projects worth over Rs 5,900 crore. "Ordering a caste census is a great thing that the Centre has done. I thank the Prime Minister for the same," said Kumar, and addressing the people, "you all may please express your gratitude towards him". The crowds erupted in applause, and chants in praise of the two leaders were heard. Notably, the caste census has been an issue close to the heart of Bihar's longest-serving chief minister, who had earlier got resolutions passed in its favour from both Houses of the state legislature. The BJP-JD(U) combine seeks to retain power in the assembly polls due in a few months, overcoming the challenge posed by the RJD, Congress, and Left combine, which has been .

Here's why outdated census data threatens India's vast welfare programmes

The bureaucratic challenge of organising the world's biggest census is immense

Govt notifies Census 2027, Cong questions 'silence' on caste enumeration

Centre may consider ST status for Bihar's Nonia community if caste census data shows widespread poverty, Shivraj Chouhan says amid intensifying caste politics

Census to begin from March 1, 2027; Centre issues official notification

India's first population census since 2011 will be conducted in two phases, beginning on October 1, 2026, and concluding with the main count on March 1, 2027

Home Minister Shah reviews preparations for census with caste enumeration

Home Minister Amit Shah on Sunday reviewed the preparation for the forthcoming census with Union Home Secretary Govind Mohan and other senior officials here. India's 16th census with caste enumeration will be carried out in 2027 with the reference date of October 1, 2026 in snow-bound areas like Ladakh and of March 1, 2027 in the rest of the country. The notification to conduct the census will be published in official gazette on Monday, an official statement said. The home minister reviewed the preparation for the forthcoming census with the Union home secretary, Registrar General & Census Commissioner of India Mritunjay Kumar Narayan and other senior officials here, it said. The census will be conducted in two phases. In phase one i.e. Houselisting Operation (HLO), the housing conditions, assets and amenities of each household will be collected. Subsequently, in second phase i.e. Population Enumeration (PE), the demographic, socio-economic, cultural and other details of every ...

Karnataka to finalise caste census timeline, complete survey in 90 days

The Karnataka cabinet will decide the timeline for the caste re-enumeration to be conducted in the state within 90 days, Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar said on Tuesday, promising a "transparent" process that protects the interests of all sections of society. He was speaking after the party announced the decision on the caste recount following a high-level meeting with Congress president Mallikarjuna Kharge and party leader Rahul Gandhi. Chief Minister Siddaramaiah was also among the leaders present during the deliberations. "Several ministers and communities have expressed apprehensions, and keeping this in mind, the party leadership has decided to re-enumerate castes in the state," Siddaramaiah told reporters. "We have agreed to that. The party has decided to complete the survey and submit the report within 90 days." Shivakumar, who is also the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) president, emphasised that the census would be conducted transparently while taking all

Population census at last: Several pending issues need fresh attention

There was a polarisation of views on getting the caste data included in the Census, with the government taking a negative posture while the Opposition was united in demanding it

MoSPI sets up working group to prepare statistical business register

The proposed business register will be prepared using data from the economic census (EC), state specific databases and central databases

Datanomics: Census announcement rekindles debate around role of caste

Despite forming the largest caste group, OBCs remain underrepresented in central government jobs

'Census delay no accident, delimitation not a coincidence', says Stalin

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Stalin warned that if delimitation is carried out using the 2027 Census, the democratic influence of southern states would be severely weakened and would unfair to them

Population & caste Census 2027: How it will take place | Population census

After a 16-year-long wait, India is finally gearing up for its next population census, and this time, it’s going digital, and it’s going big. Watch the video to know more.

Datanomics: Census likely to show India as most populous country

The official confirmation of India as the most populous nation may come with the release of the next census data in 2027Shikha Chaturvedi

Delimitation concerns will be discussed at an appropriate time: MHA

The Ministry of Home Affairs said that southern states' concerns over a population-based delimitation will be addressed at the right time as Census-2027 preparations commence

Census beyond numbers: Managing political fallout needs careful handling

The importance of the decennial Census cannot be overemphasised in a rapidly developing country like India

After 16-year gap, Census to be held in two phases by 2027

The provisional data for the 2011 Census was released on March 31, 2011, 25 days after its population enumeration phase ended, while the final data was released two years later on April 30, 2013

Explained: India's 2027 census to include caste count, trigger delimitation

India's 2027 census will be digital-first and include caste data nationwide for the first time since 1931, marking a major shift in the world's largest population count

Infirmities to caste-tech: How Census questions have changed since 1872

The evolution of India's Census questions over 150 years reflects the state's shifting priorities, from caste and infirmities to migration, fertility and tech-driven caste data