Census 2027 self-enumeration starts in Ladakh, J&K snow zones

Self-enumeration for Census 2027 began Monday in Ladakh and snow-bound areas of 16 districts of Jammu and Kashmir, running until August 31 on a dedicated portal, thehindu.com and timesnownews.com reported. Amit Sharma, Director of Census Operations for the two Union Territories, said residents can digitally fill 40 questions ahead of the door-to-door population count that starts September 1. The reference date for the region is midnight on October 1, 2026, for the rest of the country it will be March 1, 2027.

The 2027 questionnaire includes 13 new fields not in the 2011 version, such as spouse's name, digital literacy, number of bank accounts, and details of Aadhaar, voter ID, driver's licence and passport if available. Caste enumeration has also been added. Sharma told thehindu.com no private data is being sought and all information is protected under the Census Act, 1948. Respondents are asked to provide identity documents only if they have them.

The Census is the first comprehensive demographic exercise for Jammu & Kashmir after the abrogation of Article 370 and the first for Ladakh as a Union Territory. During the House Listing phase in June, 24,071 blocks in J&K and 567 blocks in Ladakh were digitally mapped. Sharma warned residents to beware of cyber fraud and said enumerators carry QR-code-enabled ID cards.