Census of India 2027

India's next decadal headcount, Census 2027, will be the country's 16th overall and its first run end-to-end on smartphones, with households able to key in their own details online before an enumerator ever knocks. Cleared by the Union Cabinet in December 2025 at a cost of Rs 11,718.24 crore, the exercise unfolds in two stages: a houselisting round spread across 2026 and population enumeration built around a reference moment of 1 March 2027. On a Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs decision of April 2025, it will also capture caste for every respondent during the enumeration stage.