- Population enumeration is scheduled from January 25 to February 28, 2027, in the areas covered by the notification.
- Citizens will have a 15-day window from January 10 to January 24 to submit household information themselves.
- Manipur, poll-bound states and specified snow-bound regions are excluded from the main schedule and will follow separate arrangements.
New Delhi: The Centre has announced the schedule for the population enumeration phase of Census 2027, with house-to-house counting scheduled from January 25 to February 28, 2027.
The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has also provided an option for citizens to complete self-enumeration between January 10 and January 24, giving households an opportunity to submit their information before census officials begin visiting homes.
The schedule has been announced through a notification issued by the Office of the Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India under the Census Act, 1948, and the Census Rules, 1990.
Census 2027: Important Dates
The population enumeration will take place over more than a month, followed by a revisional round to review and update the collected information.
The key dates are:
- January 10-24, 2027: Self-enumeration window.
- January 25-February 28, 2027: House-to-house population enumeration.
- March 1-5, 2027: Revisional round.
- March 1, 2027: Reference date for the census in the areas covered by the notification.
The reference date has been fixed at midnight on March 1, 2027.
Several States and Regions Excluded from This Schedule
The January-February schedule will not apply to certain states and regions identified in the notification.
These include Manipur, until further declaration, Goa, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab and Uttarakhand. The Union Territory of Ladakh and snow-bound non-synchronous areas of Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir are also excluded.
The census exercise in these areas will follow separate arrangements.
Four poll-bound states, including Uttar Pradesh, Goa, Punjab and non-snow-bound areas of Uttarakhand, have a separate earlier schedule. Their self-enumeration window is scheduled for November 16-30, 2026, followed by house-to-house population enumeration from December 1, 2026, to January 4, 2027.
Self-Enumeration Facility Before Door-to-Door Counting
The 15-day self-enumeration facility will allow eligible residents to submit household information online before the physical population count begins.
This is part of the government’s efforts to use digital methods in the Census 2027 exercise. The detailed procedure and platform for the January 2027 self-enumeration window are yet to be specified in the latest notification.
Households that do not complete self-enumeration will be covered through the regular house-to-house process.
Why Census 2027 Is Important
The population census is a major national exercise that provides information about the country’s population, households and demographic characteristics.
The collected data helps governments plan public services, infrastructure, welfare programmes and resource allocation.
Census 2027 is particularly significant as India prepares for its first fully digital census exercise, with the inclusion of caste enumeration beyond the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.
The upcoming population count will provide updated information for policymakers and government agencies at the national, state and local levels.
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