New Delhi, October 30 (TNA) The Union Home Ministry has notified the schedule for the population enumeration phase of Census 2027, with door-to-door enumeration set to take place from January 25 to February 28, 2027. A revision round will follow from March 1 to March 5, allowing officials to review and update entries.
The reference date for the nationwide exercise has been fixed at 00:00 hours on March 1, 2027. Citizens will also be allowed to submit their details through the self-enumeration facility from January 10 to January 24, ahead of the house-to-house exercise.
States Outside Schedule
The notified dates will not apply to several States and Union Territories where elections or other administrative considerations require a separate timetable. These include Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Goa, Uttarakhand, Manipur and Jammu and Kashmir.
The Office of the Registrar General and Census Commissioner has already announced an advance schedule for poll-bound states, including Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Goa and non-snowbound areas of Uttarakhand. In these areas, self-enumeration is scheduled from November 16 to November 30, 2026, followed by door-to-door enumeration from December 1, 2026, to January 4, 2027, and a revision round from January 5 to January 9.
Separate Dates for Snowbound Areas
A separate reference date applies to Ladakh and snowbound, non-synchronous areas of Jammu and Kashmir, Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh. For these regions, the reference date has been fixed at 00:00 hours on October 1, 2026, because of difficult winter conditions and limited accessibility.
The staggered schedule is intended to ensure that enumeration teams can reach remote and snowbound areas and that residents are counted accurately despite seasonal disruptions.
Self-Enumeration Facility
The self-enumeration window will allow eligible residents to provide their household and demographic details digitally before officials visit their homes. The facility is designed to reduce the time required for field visits and improve the accuracy of the final population database.
Residents who use the facility may still be contacted by enumerators for verification. The government is expected to issue detailed instructions on the online process, identity verification and the documents or information required.
Census in Two Phases
Census 2027 is being conducted in two broad phases. The first phase covers house listing and housing-related information, while the second phase focuses on population enumeration. The exercise will also include caste enumeration, according to the government’s earlier announcement.
The Census is expected to collect information used for planning welfare schemes, public services, infrastructure, healthcare, education and resource allocation. Officials have urged residents to cooperate with enumerators and provide accurate information during both self-enumeration and the door-to-door exercise.
Revision Round Before Finalisation
The revision round from March 1 to March 5 will allow households to report omissions, corrections or changes in the preliminary enumeration records. Officials will use the exercise to verify entries before the data is finalised.
The Census 2027 schedule marks India’s first population census exercise after 2011. The nationwide process will require extensive coordination among the Union government, State governments, Union Territory administrations and millions of field personnel.