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NEW DELHI: The first phase of the next national Census—an exercise last conducted in 2011—will begin on Wednesday, marking the start of the world’s largest enumeration drive.The exercise will be the country’s 16th Census and the eighth since Independence. It was originally scheduled for 2021 but was postponed due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Here are 10 things to know about Census 2027:
- The first phase, known as the House Listing and Housing Census, will run for six months until September. During this period, data on the condition of houses, available household amenities, and assets owned by households will be collected.
- The reference date for this leg is 00:00 hours of March 1, 2027 (October 1, 2026, for Ladakh and snow-bound non-synchronous areas of Jammu and Kashmir; Uttarakhand’s and Himachal Pradesh).
- Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Delhi, Goa, Karnataka, Lakshadweep, Mizoram, Odisha, and Sikkim will do the Houselisting Census from April 16 to May 15 along with a period of self-enumeration from April 1 to 15.
- Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Chandigarh, Chhattisgarh, and Haryana will start Houselisting Census from May 1 to May 30 with a period of self-enumeration from April 16 to April 30.
- In the second phase, population enumeration will be conducted during February 2027. However, in Ladakh, snow-bound, non-synchronous areas of Jammu and Kashmir, Uttarakhand, and Himachal Pradesh, this leg will be held during September 2026.
- During this phase, information on demographics, socio-economics, education, migration, fertility, etc. will be collected.
- For the first time, the exercise will also involve caste enumeration, dates for which will be announced later.
- In another first, the population count drive will be held digitally. Enumerators will collect and submit data directly through a mobile app.
- In addition to this, there will be an online provision for self-enumeration in both the phases.
- The Union government has approved an outlay of Rs 11,718.24 crore for Census 2027.
(With ANI inputs)
