Daijiworld Media Network – New Delhi

New Delhi, Dec 3: The Centre on Tuesday informed Parliament that the long-delayed national population census, which will include caste enumeration for the first time, is scheduled to be conducted in two phases starting April 2026.

Minister of State for Home Nityanand Rai, responding to questions in the Lok Sabha, said Phase I, covering House Listing and Housing Census, will take place between April and September 2026. Phase II, the Population Enumeration, is planned for February 2027, with March 1, 2027, as the reference date. Snow-bound areas in Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, and Ladakh will be covered in September-October 2026.

Rai added that the Office of the Registrar General and Census Commissioner is finalising the questionnaire for Census 2027, which will be conducted digitally through mobile apps, along with an online self-enumeration option. Around 34 lakh enumerators and supervisors will be deployed for the exercise.

The minister also confirmed that caste enumeration will be undertaken as per the Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs’ decision on April 30 this year. The timeline has been fixed carefully to avoid overlapping with board examinations.