India begins world’s biggest population count

India will, on Wednesday (April 1, 2026), begin the first phase of its Census 2027, marking the start of what is set to be the world’s largest population exercise and the first to be conducted digitally.

The exercise signals a major shift in how data will be collected, with officials using mobile apps and citizens also getting a chance to fill in their own details online. It is the country’s 16th Census and the eighth since independence, but the scale and method this time make it markedly different.

How the Census will be conducted in two phases

The Census will take place in two stages. The first phase, known as the House Listing and Housing Census, will run from April to September 2026. During this period, officials will visit homes to get a basic picture of everyday living. They will note the condition of houses, what facilities families have, and the kind of assets they own.

States and Union Territories will carry out this exercise over a 30-day window, based on their convenience. A 15-day self-enumeration period will precede this, allowing households to submit details on their own before officials begin door-to-door visits.

The second phase, Population Enumeration, is scheduled for February 2027. In certain regions such as Ladakh, Jammu and Kashmir’s snow-bound areas, and parts of Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh, this phase will take place earlier, in September 2026.

After that, the exercise moves from homes to people. In the second stage, enumerators will gather detailed information about individuals, including their age, education, work, migration history, family details and overall socio-economic background. The government has also decided that caste details will be recorded during this phase.

State-wise rollout and key dates

The rollout will not be the same everywhere. Some regions, including Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Delhi (NDMC and Cantonment areas), Goa, Karnataka, Lakshadweep, Mizoram, Odisha and Sikkim, will carry out houselisting between April 16 and May 15. Before that, residents in these areas can fill in their details on their own between April 1 and April 15.

Another set of states, including Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Chandigarh, Chhattisgarh, and Haryana, will begin houselisting from May 1 to May 30, with self-enumeration scheduled from April 16 to April 30.

The reference date for Census 2027 has been fixed as midnight of March 1, 2027. For snow-bound and non-synchronous areas, it will be October 1, 2026.

Digital-first Census with multilingual access

For the first time, enumerators will use smartphones to collect and upload data directly through a mobile application. Alongside this, a dedicated online portal will allow people to complete self-enumeration in both phases.

The digital system will be available in 16 languages, including Hindi and English, making it easier for people across the country to take part without language being a hurdle.

The Union government has approved a budget of ₹11,718.24 crore for the exercise. 

Source: Statesman
--Agencies