New Delhi: The groundwork for Census 2027 has formally begun, with the Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on Thursday (January 22) notifying the full questionnaire for Phase I of the nationwide exercise. This is a crucial administrative step ahead of the country’s largest data collection effort.
Issued through the Office of the Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India, the notification lays out the questions that census officials will use during the houselisting and housing census stage. This phase focusses on mapping residential structures, household conditions and access to basic amenities across India.
The Central government invoked its authority under Section 8(1) of the Census Act, 1948, to replace an earlier notification issued in January 2020. The order safeguards all actions already taken under the previous arrangement while clearing the way for updated data collection for Census 2027.
“In exercise of the powers conferred by sub-section (1) of section 8 of the Census Act, 1948 (37 of 1948), and in supersession of the notification of the Government of India in the Ministry of Home Affairs (Office of the Registrar General, India) number S.O. 120(E), dated the 7th January,2020 published in the Gazette of India, Extraordinary, Part II, Section 3, Sub-section (ii), dated the 9th January, 2020, except as respects things done or omitted to be done before such supersession, the Central Government hereby instructs that all the Census Officers may, within the limits of the local areas for which they have been respectively appointed, ask all such questions from all persons on the items enumerated below for collecting information through the houselisting and housing census schedule in connection with the Census of India 2027,” the notification states.
According to the document, census officers will collect information using a standardised houselisting schedule within their assigned jurisdictions.
The questionnaire contains 33 items, covering building identification, materials used in floors, walls and roofs, condition and use of houses, household size, ownership status and the number of dwelling rooms.
The form also gathers details about the head of the household, including gender and social category, along with information on essential amenities such as drinking water, electricity supply, toilets, bathing facilities, kitchens, LPG and PNG connections, cooking fuel, waste water outlets and sanitation arrangements.
In keeping with the expanding role of digital infrastructure in everyday life, the questionnaire includes access to communication and transport facilities such as mobile phones, internet connectivity, computers, televisions and vehicles.
The notification clarifies that mobile numbers will be collected strictly for census-related communication.
The ministry has confirmed that the questionnaire for Phase II of Census 2027, which deals with population enumeration, will be notified separately at a later stage. Signed by Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India Mritunjay Kumar Narayan, the notification establishes the administrative framework for carrying out Phase I.
Earlier this month, on January 7, the MHA announced that houselisting operations for Census 2027 would be conducted between April 1 and September 30 across all states and Union Territories. Each state and UT will determine its specific 30-day enumeration window within this period.
The government has also retained the option of self-enumeration, allowing households to submit their information digitally during a 15-day window immediately before door-to-door houselisting begins.
During the recent Winter Session of Parliament, the MHA informed the Lok Sabha that Census 2027 will be conducted in two stages. The first stage involves houselisting and housing data collection in 2026, while the second stage, covering population enumeration, is scheduled for February 2027.
Responding to a question from Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi, Minister of State for Home Affairs Nityanand Rai reiterated that March 1, 2027, at 00:00 hours will be the reference date for population enumeration nationwide.
For Ladakh and snow-bound areas of Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand, enumeration will be carried out earlier in September 2026, with October 1, 2026 set as the reference date.
Addressing concerns over methodology and inclusivity, Rai stated that the census process already incorporates lessons from earlier exercises and stakeholder consultations. He also clarified that census questions are finalised only after discussions with relevant ministries, user organisations and subject experts, followed by field testing to assess feasibility before official notification.
The ministry added that a nationwide pre-test for Census 2027 concluded on November 30, and the final questionnaire is expected to be released shortly. A pilot houselisting exercise conducted between November 10 and 30, 2025, tested the digital data collection model and enabled self-enumeration between November 1 and 7.
As per Rule 6 of the Census Rules, 1990, all census questionnaires and schedules are notified by the central government through the official gazette. The Office of the Registrar General and Census Commissioner is presently in the final stages of preparing the materials.
The MHA also informed Parliament that primary school teachers are typically appointed as enumerators, following long-standing practice. “The timeline for Census 2027 has been kept same like the past practices followed in previous censuses,” the ministry said.
On caste enumeration, the government confirmed that Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes will be recorded strictly according to the Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Order, 1950, and the Constitution (Scheduled Tribes) Order, 1950, as amended from time to time. It further stated that caste enumeration in Census 2027 will be carried out as decided by the Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs on April 30, 2025.
“The census questions are notified after finalisation. Under sub-section (2) of section 8 of the Census Act, 1948, the respondent is required to answer questions to the best of his knowledge or belief,” the ministry told Parliament.
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