The Indian government has officially announced the start of the next national census — the first since 2011 — and this time, it will include detailed caste data. The census will begin on October 1, 2026, in Union Territories like Ladakh and Jammu & Kashmir, and in the hill states of Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand due to weather conditions. For the rest of the country, the count will start from March 1, 2027.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah reviewed the preparations for the census today, along with senior officials from the Ministry of Home Affairs and the Census Department.
Reviewed the preparations for the 16th Census with senior officials.
— Amit Shah (@AmitShah) June 15, 2025
Tomorrow, the gazette notification of the census will be issued. The census will include caste enumeration for the first time. As many as 34 lakh enumerators and supervisors and around 1.3 lakh census… pic.twitter.com/wkvJda7J4e
The census will take place in two main phases. First will be the House Listing Operation (HLO), where officials will record details about each household’s living conditions, available facilities, and assets. The second phase will be the Population Enumeration (PE), where more personal data such as age, education, profession, religion, and importantly, caste will be collected.
This is the first time caste will be officially recorded in a nationwide census, a move that has been demanded by many, especially ahead of key elections in states like Bihar where a majority of the population comes from backward or extremely backward classes.
The government clarified that the focus will be on caste and religion, not economic class, and each individual will need to provide that information during the count.
