Census 2027: Union cabinet clears Rs 11,718 crore budget; India to conduct first fully digital headcount

The Union Cabinet has approved a budget of Rs 11,718.24 crore for conducting India’s next national census in 2027, which will be held in two phases and conducted entirely through digital means for the first time. The decision was announced by Union Minister for Information Technology Ashwini Vaishnaw at a press conference on Friday.

Under the approved plan, the house-listing and housing census will be carried out between April and September 2026, followed by the population enumeration phase in February 2027, informed the Minister.

He also added that the exercise will involve around 30 lakh field-level personnel across the country, with data collection to be carried out using a dedicated mobile application instead of traditional paper schedules.

Cabinet Approval and Timeline

Announcing the Cabinet’s decision, Vaishnaw said Census 2027 would be a very large exercise, noting that the last general census was conducted in 2011. The scheduled 2021 census could not be undertaken due to the COVID-19 pandemic, leading to the deferral of the national headcount.

He said the formal process for Census 2027 had already been initiated, with the gazette notification issued on June 16, 2025. The approval of the budget now enables full-scale administrative and technical preparations to proceed.

According to the government, the two-phase structure of the census will remain in line with past practice, beginning with the preparation of the National Population Register-linked house listing, followed by detailed enumeration of individuals and households.

First Fully Digital Census

A key feature of Census 2027 will be the complete transition to digital data collection. Vaishnaw said extensive digital technologies would be deployed throughout the census process, marking a significant shift from earlier exercises that relied heavily on paper-based formats.

Enumerators will use mobile applications for real-time data entry, transmission, and validation.

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Pilot Pre-Test Underway in Odisha

Preparations for Census 2027 have already moved into an operational phase with the launch of a pre-test exercise in select regions, including four locations in Odisha.

The pilot is being conducted in Ward No. 22 of the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation, Ward No. 17 of the Cuttack Municipal Corporation, 20 revenue villages under Tentulikhunti tehsil in Nabarangpur district, and 44 revenue villages under Thakurmunda tehsil in Mayurbhanj district.