Census 2027: MHA sets Jan 25-Feb 28 count, with exclusions

The Central Government has set Census 2027 population enumeration for 25 January to 28 February 2027 in the states and Union territories covered by a Ministry of Home Affairs notification published on 30 October 2026. The schedule excludes Manipur, Goa, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Uttarakhand and Ladakh, as well as the snow-bound non-synchronous areas of Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir.

The ministry’s notification, S.O. 5913(E), also provides an optional self-enumeration window from 10 to 24 January 2027, immediately before house-to-house population counting. A revisional round will follow from 1 to 5 March 2027.

Issued through the Office of the Registrar General, India, the notification invokes Section 3 of the Census Act, 1948, read with Rules 6A and 6D of the Census Rules, 1990, as its legal authority. It is signed by Mritunjay Kumar Narayan, Registrar General of India and Census Commissioner.

Which areas the notification covers

The geographical limits apply to the notification’s enumeration period, self-enumeration window and reference date. Under its wording, Delhi falls within the announced schedule, while Uttar Pradesh does not.

The distinction between whole-state exclusions and exclusions covering specified areas is important. The ministry excludes Uttarakhand in its entirety from this schedule. For Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir, however, the exclusion is limited to their snow-bound non-synchronous areas, rather than the whole state or Union territory.

Non-synchronous areas are counted on a different timetable. The Press Information Bureau’s backgrounder, “Census 2027: India’s First Digital Enumeration Exercise”, dated 25 April 2026, had outlined a September 2026 population enumeration schedule for Ladakh and the snow-bound non-synchronous areas of Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand.

That earlier outline and the October notification differ in scope. The April backgrounder referred to snow-bound areas of Uttarakhand when describing the separate timetable; the October notification excludes the whole state from the January-February schedule. The newer document also expressly excludes Goa, Uttar Pradesh and Punjab.

For Manipur, the ministry adds the qualification “till further declaration”. It does not attach that wording to the other exclusions or explain the reasons for them.

These are exclusions from this particular timetable, not a declaration that the places concerned will be left out of Census 2027. The Union Cabinet’s scheme approval, published by the Prime Minister’s Office, states that the exercise will cover the country’s entire population.

Counting period and reference date are different

The ministry fixes the reference date for the census covered by this notification at 00:00 hours on 1 March 2027. This is distinct from the period during which enumerators visit households.

The PIB backgrounder describes the reference point as the “Census Moment”, which helps enumerators determine which persons should be included in the count. In other words, information gathered over the enumeration period is tied to a specified point in time, rather than treating each household’s visit date as a separate population snapshot.

The October notification places the revisional round immediately after that reference point. It specifies the dates but does not set out the detailed procedures for that round.

Self-enumeration remains an option, not a replacement for the entire field exercise. In its April explanation of the facility, PIB said eligible household respondents could submit information online before field operations. A generated self-enumeration identifier would then allow the enumerator to confirm the information during the household visit.

The October notification establishes the population enumeration self-enumeration window but does not reproduce portal instructions or the questionnaire.

Population counting follows the housing phase

The new Gazette notification concerns population enumeration, the second phase of Census 2027. It should not be confused with the Houselisting and Housing Census, which PIB’s April backgrounder scheduled between April and September 2026, with a 30-day fieldwork period in each state or Union territory.

According to PIB, the housing phase gathers information about housing conditions, amenities and household assets, while providing the framework for the subsequent population count. Population enumeration gathers demographic, socio-economic, cultural, migration and fertility-related information about individuals.

The same backgrounder said caste enumeration would take place during the population enumeration phase, following the Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs’ decision of 30 April 2025. The October scheduling notification does not itself prescribe caste questions or other questionnaire details.

PIB had described the general population enumeration period as February 2027 and said exact dates would be notified later. The 30 October instrument now supplies those dates for the areas within its scope, with field counting beginning in January.

The broader exercise is planned as India’s first digital census, according to the Cabinet approval published by the Prime Minister’s Office. That approval provides for mobile applications for data collection and a Census Management & Monitoring System portal to oversee operations. It records an approved cost of Rs 11,718.24 crore.

PIB’s April backgrounder places the exercise after the census due in 2021, which it said could not be undertaken on schedule because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Neither that backgrounder’s earlier timetable nor the October notification establishes that the separately scheduled September population count was completed.

The October notification supplies no alternative enumeration dates for the places it excludes. For Manipur, it expressly leaves the position subject to a further declaration.