With 11 more questions, Census 2027 population enumeration phase to be of record 50 days

Census 2027 population enumeration to span up to 50 days, with 40 questions including caste, Aadhaar and voter ID details

NEW DELHI: The population enumeration phase of Census 2027 will last longer than in past census exercises, with its duration spanning nearly one-and-a-half months from Jan 10 to Feb 28, including the 15-day self-enumeration window, as against the earlier Phase-2 duration of 20 days, conventionally running from Feb 9-28.Sources told TOI that the house-to-house population enumeration schedule announced earlier for poll-bound states of Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Goa and Punjab also spans 35 days. The longer duration may be linked to the increased number of questions at 40, including pertaining to caste, to be asked in Phase-2 of Census 2027, as against 29 in 2011.No census has been declared in Manipur. The census exercise in the state was put on hold after demands from various sections within the state that the National Register of Citizens (NRC) exercise be conducted first.A notification issued by the Union home ministry Friday declared that a nationwide census of population shall be undertaken – except in Manipur (till further declaration); poll-bound states of Goa, UP, Punjab and Uttarakhand, where it was preponed in view of the impending assembly elections early next year; and UT of Ladakh and snow-bound, non-synchronous areas of Himachal Pradesh and UT of Jammu & Kashmir, where it has already been completed – from Jan 25 to Feb 27, 2027.

This shall be preceded by a window of self-enumeration from Jan 10-24. While the reference date for Census 2027 has already been declared as March 1, 2027, a revisional round will be conducted from March 1-5, 2027.The new fields to be captured in Phase-2 of Census include, apart from caste, spouse’s name and mother and father’s particulars, the respondent’s nationality as declared, permanent address, place of Covid-19 vaccination, total number of bank accounts, mobile number, Aadhaar number, voter ID number, passport number and availability of driving licence.While the mobile number, Aadhaar and voter ID may be shared if available, the passport number is required only from an Indian passport holder.