Census 2027: New Delhi. The first phase of Census 2027, house listing, will begin today (April 1) and will continue till September 30. Considered the largest such exercise in the world, the Census 2027 will be conducted digitally for the first time. The reference date of Census 2027 is 00:00 hours of March 1, 2027. However, for Ladakh and snow-bound non-synchronous areas of Jammu and Kashmir, Uttarakhand, and Himachal Pradesh, the reference date is 00:00 hours of October 1, 2026. The second phase (Census 2027)of the census will be population enumeration (PE).
About the 1st Phase Of Census:
The first phase of the census is House Listing and Housing Census, popularly known as HLO. It will be conducted from April to September this year in a period of 30 days as per the convenience of the State/UT governments. There will also be an option of self-enumeration of 15-day period just before the 30-day period of house-to-house house listing work.
Around 33 questions will reportedly be asked in this phase by the enumerators, covering details about the condition of houses, amenities available to the household, and assets possessed by the household. The Centre notified the questions of Phase I of the census in January this year.
State-Wise Dates:
Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Delhi, Goa, Karnataka, Lakshadweep, Mizoram, Odisha, and Sikkim will do the house listing and housing census from April 16 to May 15. Meanwhile, the self-enumeration will be done from April 1 to 15.
The Houselisting Census will start in Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Chandigarh, Chhattisgarh, and Haryana from May 1 to May 30 with a period of self-enumeration from April 16 to April 30.
Phase-II Census:
This phase will be conducted during February 2027. However, for Ladakh, Jammu and Kashmir, Uttarakhand, and Himachal Pradesh, the phase-II will be conducted during September 2026. The enumeration of castes will also be done during the second phase, as per CCPA. Information on demographic, socio-economic, education, migration, fertility etc. will be collected in this phase. Meanwhile, the government is yet to notify the questions to be asked during this phase.