Census of India 2027
Context:
The Union Cabinet recently approved the proposal for conducting the Census of India 2027 at a cost of ₹11,718.24 crore.
This will be the 16th Census in the country and the 8th after independence.
Key Highlights of Census 2027:
The exercise will be conducted in two phases:
House listing & Housing Census from April to September 2026.
Population Enumeration from February 2027 (September 2026 for snow-bound areas like Ladakh, J&K, HP, and Uttarakhand).
First Digital Census:
Data collection via mobile applications (Android & iOS).
A new option for the public to self-enumerate.
A dedicated Census Management & Monitoring System for real-time monitoring (CMMS Portal)
For the first time in independent India, the Census will capture caste data electronically during the second phase (Population Enumeration)
Approximately 30 lakh field functionaries (enumerators, supervisors) will be deployed.
Census-as-a-Service (CaaS):
It is an initiative to deliver Census data to Ministries in a clean, machine-readable, and actionable format.
The objective is to ensure easy accessibility of data for policy-making, where queries on required parameters can be answered with the click of a button.
Legal Framework:
The Census is conducted under the provisions of the Census Act, 1948 and the Census Rules, 1990.
Census Act, 1948:
Section 3 of the act empowers the Central Government to declare its intention to take a census.
Section 4 of the act provides for the appointment of Census Commissioners and Census Officers.
Section 8 of the act empowers Census Officers to ask questions and makes it legally binding for all persons to answer them truthfully.
Section 11 of the act prescribes penalties for refusal to answer, giving false answers, or obstructing census work.
Section 15 of the act protects the records of census; individual data is generally not open to inspection or admissible in evidence in civil/criminal proceedings (confidentiality).