Now Reading: Census 2027 from Jan 25 to Feb 28, self-enumeration from Jan 10
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Census 2027 from Jan 25 to Feb 28, self-enumeration from Jan 10
The Story in Brief
India's population census will be conducted across most of the country from 25 January to 28 February 2027, with 1 March 2027 set as the reference date, the Census Commissioner announced on Friday, 30 October 2026. Self-enumeration will be open from 10 to 24 January before the house-to-house count begins. A revisional round is scheduled from 1 to 5 March.
The notification, issued by Registrar General Mritunjay Kumar Narayan, excludes Manipur (until further order), Goa, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Uttarakhand, Ladakh and snow-bound non-synchronous areas of Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir from this schedule. Snow-bound areas of Uttarakhand, Jammu and Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh were enumerated from 1 to 30 September, while Goa, Uttar Pradesh and Punjab will be covered from 1 December to 4 January.
The census includes a first-time caste question, expanded from 29 to 40 questions covering Covid-19 vaccination, digital literacy, Aadhaar and voter ID details. Congress leader Jairam Ramesh alleged the government is 'orchestrating' Census 2027 to determine citizenship, calling it 'blatantly illegal'.
Update, 30 October 2026: Orissa Post now also reports the notification, confirming the January 25 to February 28 2027 schedule, and adds that assembly elections are due in the excluded states of Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Punjab, Goa and Manipur in early 2027, and that the Union Cabinet approved Rs 11,718 crore for the census.
Indian Opinion Analysis
All six outlets carry essentially identical wire copy, attributing the census schedule and reference date to the notification by Registrar General Mritunjay Kumar Narayan. Deccan Herald alone adds the Congress allegation by Jairam Ramesh that the government is ‘orchestrating’ the census to determine citizenship, a charge no other source reports. The uniform coverage outside that one outlet means the news is the notification itself, not any political dispute around it. The practical question the sources leave open is whether the excluded poll-bound states, Manipur, Goa, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab and Uttarakhand, will receive a separate schedule before their expected early-2027 elections.
Coverage: 4 sources, 1 government-critical, 3 neutral
Sources (4): Syndicated copy (carried by business-standard.com, thehindubusinessline.com, orissapost.com), deccanherald.com (government critical), newindianexpress.com (neutral report), economictimes.indiatimes.com (neutral report)
This brief was synthesised by AI from the 4 sources linked above, so one read covers every framing they carry. Methodology and corrections.
