India’s First Digital Census Begins April 2026: Key Details

The first phase of Census 2027, known as the houselisting operations (HLO), will be conducted between April 1 and September 30, 2026, across all States and Union Territories in India.

Each State and Union Territory will carry out the houselisting exercise for a period of 30 days, with the exact dates to be notified separately by them.

Citizens will have the option to fill in their details through self-enumeration, which will be available for 15 days before the start of the house-to-house survey.

This Census will be the first time India conducts a fully digital population count using electronic data collection methods.

The second phase of the Census, called the population enumeration phase, is scheduled to take place in February 2027.

The 2027 Census will take place after a 16-year gap since 2011 and for the first time in independent India, caste identities will be officially recorded during the population enumeration phase.

Around 30 lakh field staff including enumerators, supervisors and census officers will be deployed and will receive an honorarium for their work.