NEW DELHI, Jan 7: The first phase of the 2027 Census Operation will take place between April 1 and September 30, 2026, as per a notification issued by the Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India on Wednesday.
“Houselisting operations will be conducted between 1 April 2026 and 30 September 2026 across all States and Union Territories, during a 30-day period specified by each State/UT,” the notification read. Provision for self-enumeration will be available for a period of 15 days prior to the commencement of house-to-house houselisting, as per the schedule notified by each State/UT, it added.
This will be the first digital Census and the first to enumerate caste in independent India. Additionally, the government had said the Census would have a focused and wider publicity campaign for nationwide awareness, inclusive participation, last-mile engagement and support for field operations.
Meanwhile, in the voters’ list after the Special Intensive Revision in nine states and three union territories published so far, names of over 6.5 crore electors were removed in the draft electoral rolls. The nine States and three UTs had 50.9 crore electors but after the SIR, the number of electors dwindled to 44.4 crore.
ECI officials said the names of those removed from the draft rolls have been put in the ‘ASD’ or Absent, Shifted and Dead/Duplicate category. The ECI officials had earlier cited available trends to say that the collection of enumeration forms has been “much less” in urban areas compared to rural areas of the States and UTs covered in the SIR exercise.
Phase two of the SIR began in Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Lakshadweep, Chhattisgarh, Goa, Gujarat, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Puducherry, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal on November 4, 2025.
(Manas Dasgupta)
