India's 2027 Census to begin from 25 January

The Government of India has announced the conduct of a census across the country. According to a gazette notification issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs, the census will be conducted between 25 January, 2027 and 28 February, 2027. However, certain specific areas and states have been exempted from this process.

According to a report by The Hindu, this census will not be carried out in snow-bound areas and poll-bound states. The Ministry of Home Affairs notification issued on Friday, 30 October, 2026 clearly stated that counting will not take place in poll-bound states such as Manipur (until further notice), Goa, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, and Uttarakhand. In addition, the census will also not be conducted in the Union Territory of Ladakh and the snow-bound non-synchronous areas of Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir.

Midnight of 00:00 hours on 1 March, 2027 has been set as the reference date for the census. According to a report by Business Standard, this process involves several important stages. The option of voluntary self-enumeration for the census will be available from 10 January, 2027 to 24 January, 2027.

The Ministry of Home Affairs notification further stated that the revision round for the census will be conducted from 1 March, 2027 to 5 March, 2027. This notification has been issued using the powers conferred under Section 3 of the Census Act, 1948 and Rules 6A and 6D of the Census Rules, 1990.

Thus, according to the schedule determined by the Government of India, the census process will be completed in most regions from the end of January to the end of February, while states with difficult geographical conditions and those undergoing elections have been excluded from it.