Population

Do not release provisional census data to press: RGI to states and UTs

The Registrar General of India (RGI) has directed its countrywide units in states and union territories not to use or release to the press any data or population figures collected during the Census 2027. In a communique to chief secretaries of all states and its directorate, RGI and Census Commissioner Mrityunjay Kumar Narayan also underlined that information collected during Census operations is confidential and protected under the provisions of the Census Act, 1948. Section 15 of the Census Act states that census records are not open to inspection nor admissible in evidence. "It needs to be mentioned here that the provisional population figures and/or any census figures, based on the enumeration or any other data contained in the household schedules/abstract should not be released to the press or used by any authority, official non-official until further instructions are issued in this regard by the ORGI," he said. Narayan said Census 2027 is being conducted digitally, with ...

Delhi to begin Census 2027 phase 2 on Jan 10, with 15-day self-enumeration

The second phase of Census 2027 in Delhi is likely to begin January 10, 2027, with a 15-day window for self-enumeration ahead of the house-to-house exercise starting January 25, officials said on Thursday. According to senior officials, the self-enumeration window will run from January 10 to 24, followed by field operations from January 25 to February 28. A revisional round is scheduled from March 1 to 5. A senior census official said a meeting will be held Thursday -- chaired by the Delhi chief secretary and involving census officials -- on the second phase of the exercise. The first phase of Census 2027 in Delhi, which concluded on June 14, covered nearly 76 lakh houses and around 55 lakh households, with enumerators recording that more than 2.3 crore people were ordinarily residing in the city, officials said. The population enumeration phase will require citizens to answer 40 questions on various parameters, including caste, to be captured for the first time since the 1931 cens

The opportunities and obstacles of migration: UNFPA study flags key gaps

The study said that migrant workers are not only labour-market participants but important contributors to critical sectors of south India's economy

An ageing world

India's window of opportunity is narrowing

With TFR at 1.9, EAC-PM calls for end to sterilisation incentives

India's TFR has fallen to 1.9, below replacement level. The EAC-PM has called for ending sterilisation-linked incentives and reviewing population-control rules in low-fertility states

Can Delhi's infrastructure handle 32 million people? MPD gives the numbers

From water and sewage to waste management, drainage and power infrastructure, here's what the Master Plan for Delhi says will be needed to support a projected 32 million people by 2047

Delhi Master Plan 2047 targets 4 mn flats, mixed-use transit-led growth

MPD-2047 plans for a population of 32 million and shifts Delhi towards denser mixed-use growth around mass transit, land pooling and infrastructure-led urban expansion

Decentralise education, create jobs

India's young population can drive growth only if the government invests more in education

Census 2027 population count begins in J&K, Ladakh: Here's what we know

Self-enumeration to run till August 31, followed by door-to-door population count in September; exercise brought forward to cover remote areas before winter

India needs a national framework to build a sustainable care economy

The Union Budget for 2026-27 announced measures to strengthen the care ecosystem, including the expansion of geriatric and allied services, and programmes to train 150,000 multiskilled caregivers

India's declining fertility rates: Bihar, Meghalaya remain at the top

Almost every state and union territory shows a net decline in TFR over the last decade

Population debate needs nuance, not panic over India's fertility shift

India's falling fertility calls for region-specific, rights-based policies-not a shift from population-control fears to pro-birth alarmism

The silver solvers: How Kerala is tackling the ageing population challenge

Kerala is attempting to tackle the fallout of a very southern trend: A growing elderly population. Others may want to take note

The demographic buyback solution: Why a lower fertility rate may help India

Rather than a crisis, India's falling fertility could boost per capita prosperity if AI-driven productivity offsets a shrinking workforce

Delhi Census Phase 1: Which districts have most people and houses?

Delhi Census Phase 1: North East emerged as the most populous district, while New Delhi recorded the lowest population

India’s fertility rate is now below replacement level: What happens next?

India’s fertility rate has fallen below the replacement level for the first time, raising questions about the country’s demographic future. Does this mean India’s population will start shrinking? In t

Why India's 2.0 fertility rate does not mean population decline soon

India's fertility rate remained at 2.0 in 2023-24, below replacement level. But that does not mean the population will start shrinking anytime soon. Here's why

From 5 children in 1971 to 2 today: How India's fertility rate transformed

According to NFHS-5, India's fertility rate dropped below the replacement threshold of 2.1 during 2019-21 and has remained there since

Changing aspirations, rising cost of living drag India's fertility rate

As fertility rates falls below replacement level, rising costs of housing, education and childcare, alongside changing aspirations and delayed marriage, are reshaping family size decisions

Fertility puzzle: Why countries can't seem to reverse falling birth rates

From cash incentives to calls for national duty, governments deployed every tool to boost births, but declining fertility proved far harder to reverse than expected