The pre-test phase for the 2027 Census of India will run from November 10-30, 2025, in selected sample areas across states and union territories. Mortuary G. Kumar, Registrar General and Census Commissioner, announced through an official notification that a self-enumeration option will be available from November 1-7. This will be the country's first digital census, where citizens' caste will also be recorded.
The pre-test aims to assess the effectiveness of the two-phase census occurring from April 1, 2026, to February 28, 2027. The first phase involves house listing, gathering data on housing conditions, assets, and amenities. The second phase, starting February 1, 2027, will count the population, covering demographic, socio-economic, cultural, and other individual details.
This will be India's 16th census and the 8th post-independence. The pre-test will evaluate questionnaires, data collection, training, logistics, mobile apps, and software to resolve potential issues before the main event. More than 3.4 million enumerators and supervisors, alongside 130,000 census personnel, will participate. According to Mortuary G. Kumar, an online portal for self-enumeration will be available November 1-7, 2025, empowering citizens to register their details personally, promoting transparency and digitalization of the process.
The Census of India is a comprehensive survey of the population, demographics, socio-economic conditions, and resource distribution. Conducted under the Ministry of Home Affairs by the Registrar General and Census Commissioner, it's held every ten years as mentioned in Article 246 of the Constitution, though implemented by the central government. It aims to supply data crucial for policy formation, resource allocation, constituency delineation, and developmental planning. The last census was conducted in 2011, with the 2021 census delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
