The Census 2027 Explained: What changed from the 2011 Census

India's next Census will be different from the last one in 2011 in several important ways. Caste will be recorded for the first time in the Census since Independence, data collection will be primarily digital, and people will have the option of submitting their information themselves online.

The Population Enumeration phase will also have a new set of questions covering areas such as caste, identity documents, bank accounts and COVID-19 vaccination. The changes come after the 2021 Census was postponed during the COVID-19 pandemic. Census 2027 will be India's 16th Census in the series since 1872 and the eighth since Independence. 

The exercise will be conducted in two phases. The first is the Houselisting operation, which collects information regarding housing conditions, assets, amenities. The second is Population Enumeration (PE) in which the demographic, socio-economic, cultural and other details of every person are collected.

What happened in the 2011 Census? 

The 2011 Census collected information on several characteristics, including religion, Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe status, language, education, employment and migration. The 2011 Population Enumeration had 29 questions. These included a person’s name, demographic, marital status, literacy, economic, migration, travel-to-work and fertility-related information, Scheduled Caste or Scheduled Tribe status. 

Caste, however, was not comprehensively recorded for all communities until the 2011 Census. The Census recorded Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, but there was no comprehensive caste enumeration of the entire population. 

The government did conduct the Socio-Economic and Caste Census (SECC) in 2011. Its socio-economic data was finalised and published, but the caste data was not released. In the regular Census, only Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes were enumerated by caste. 

Caste will be recorded 

The biggest change in Census 2027 is the inclusion of caste enumeration in the Population Enumeration phase. The union government decided in April 2025 to include caste enumeration in Census 2027. The caste question was subsequently included in the Population Enumeration schedule, including a question asking respondents to state their caste. This will make Census 2027 the first Census since Independence to collect caste information across the population, rather than limiting caste-related enumeration in the regular Census to SC and ST categories.

But there is no separate OBC column

The inclusion of caste does not mean that the questionnaire has a separate category marked "OBC". This is the issue raised by Maharashtra Congress leader Vijay Wadettiwar. On Sunday, he said the Census would be incomplete unless the Centre provided a separate column for Other Backward Classes.

His argument is that simply asking people to state their caste may not establish the size of the OBC population. He also pointed to differences in how communities are classified across states and argued that a separate OBC category would make the enumeration more useful for assessing the community's social and economic position.

The Census will be primarily digital

The 2011 Census relied on printed schedules and manual collection, although technology was used to process the information. Census 2027 will be conducted primarily through digital means. Enumerators will use a mobile application to collect and submit data, while a Census Management and Monitoring System (CMMS) portal will be used to manage and monitor the exercise. Respondents will also have the option of submitting their information through an online self-enumeration portal. 

The mobile application has an offline data-collection facility. In unavoidable circumstances, enumerators can collect information on paper, which will then be digitised at the charge level.

This makes the mode of data collection one of the major differences between the two Census exercises. 

People can fill in their own Census information 

Census 2027 also introduces self-enumeration. Under this system, respondents can enter their information online through a Self-Enumeration portal instead of waiting for an enumerator to collect the information.

But self-enumeration does not replace the door-to-door Census. The government has said that enumerators will still visit households and confirm the information submitted through self-enumeration before the data is finally submitted. It is therefore an additional facility rather than an alternative to physical enumeration. 

For Ladakh and the snow-bound non-synchronous areas of Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand, Population Enumeration is scheduled from September 2026. Self-enumeration for these areas will start from August 17. 

More information will be collected

The Centre has notified 40 questions for the Population Enumeration phase of Census 2027.

The questions cover demographic, social and economic information, along with caste. The notified questionnaire also includes questions concerning certain identity documents and other information, including Aadhaar, voter ID, passport and driving licence details, bank accounts and the place of COVID-19 vaccination.

Privacy becomes a bigger question 

The move to digital collection and the inclusion of additional personal information also bring questions about privacy and data security. The Census is governed by the Census Act, 1948 and the Census Rules, 1990. Section 15 of the Census Act provides for the confidentiality of individual Census information. For Census 2027, the government says it has put in place measures including encryption, secure data centres and security audits to protect information collected during the digital exercise. 

The government has been asked in Parliament whether Census data will be linked with databases such as Aadhaar, the National Population Register or voter rolls, and what safeguards would apply. In its response, the government confirmed the digital nature of the exercise and the provision for self-enumeration. 

When will Census 2027 take place 

For most of India, the reference date for Census 2027 is 00:00 hours on March 1, 2027. For Ladakh and the non-synchronous snow-bound areas of Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand, the reference date is 00:00 hours on October 1, 2026.