The first phase of the Population Census 2027, also known as the houselisting operations (HLO) phase, will be conducted from April 1 to September 30 this year across all States and Union Territories, the Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India (RG&CCI) said in a notification on Wednesday (January 7, 2026).
The HLO phase will be conducted in each State over a 30-day period, with the specific dates to be notified by the States. The self-enumeration option will be available 15 days before the start of the HLO phase.
“The houselisting operations of the Census of India 2027 shall take place between 1st April, 2026 and 30th September, 2026 in all States and Union territories in India during the period of thirty days specified by each State and Union territory. There shall also be an option for self enumeration which shall be conducted in fifteen days’ time period just before the start of house to house houselisting operations of thirty days,” RG&CCI Mritunjay Kumar Narayan said in a gazette notification.
This will be the first digital Census and the first to enumerate caste in independent India.
Household queries
The second phase of the Census is the population enumeration (PE) phase to be conducted in February 2027. Caste identities will be enumerated during this phase.
The pre-test or the preparatory exercise for the first phase of the Census was held from November 10 to 30 last year in select areas across the country. It had sought household responses to 35 questions, including the composition of the floor and roof of the house, main cereal consumed, source of drinking water and cooking fuel, and the number of married couples in the house.
About 30 lakh field functionaries — including enumerators, supervisors, master trainers, charge officers, and Principal/District Census Officers — will be deployed for data collection, monitoring, and supervision of Census operations. All Census functionaries will be paid a suitable honorarium as they will be doing this work in addition to their regular duties.
In April 2025, the Cabinet Committee had decided to include caste enumeration in the upcoming Census, which is the 16th official population count in India and the eighth after after independence.
