Houselisting to begin in April with self enumeration digital tools and caste count
January 8, 2026: India’s long delayed Census 2027 has formally begun with the Registrar General announcing houselisting operations from April 1 to September 30 2026 across all States and Union Territories. Each State will conduct the exercise for 30 days while citizens can opt for self enumeration for 15 days before door to door surveys begin.
The houselisting phase will map all buildings and households and prepare the base for population enumeration scheduled for February 2027. The census was postponed from 2021 due to the COVID pandemic and will now be conducted in two phases with digital data collection using mobile applications.
Census 2027 will also mark the return of caste enumeration for the first time since Independence. Approved by the Cabinet Committee chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi the process will be fully digital and monitored centrally. The exercise will cost ₹11,718.2 crore and promises faster access to census data.