India to Conduct Next National Census In 2027, Announces Home Ministry

The Government of India has officially notified that the next census of the country will be conducted in the year 2027. This was announced through an extraordinary notification issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs (Office of the Registrar General, India) on June 16, 2025.

The notification, issued under the authority granted by Section 3 of the Census Act, 1948, supersedes the earlier notification S.O. 1455(E) dated March 26, 2019. It declares that the census will be conducted during the year 2027 across India. The previous notification had scheduled the census for 2021, but it was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic and other logistical challenges.

Key Dates and Region-Specific Changes

According to the official communication:

General Reference Date: For most parts of India, the reference date for the census will be 00:00 hours on March 1, 2027.

Special Consideration for Snow-bound Areas: For the Union Territory of Ladakh, as well as snow-bound and non-synchronous areas of the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, and Uttarakhand, the reference date will be 00:00 hours on October 1, 2026.

This adjustment accounts for the extreme climatic conditions and accessibility issues in these regions during the standard March schedule.

Supersession of Previous Orders

The new notification replaces the earlier gazette notification issued on March 26, 2019 (S.O. 1455(E)), which was part of the preparatory steps for the 2021 Census. While the earlier notification remains valid for actions already taken under its provisions, it is now fully superseded for all future preparations.

Official Statement

The notification has been signed by Mrityunjay Kumar Narayan, Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India. It bears the file number [F.No. 9/8/2025-CD(Cen)] and is published under the authority of the Government of India in both English and Hindi editions of the Gazette of India.

The Indian Census, conducted every ten years, is one of the largest administrative exercises in the world. The 2021 Census was to be India's first digital census but faced repeated delays due to the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent administrative and political factors. With this fresh notification, the government has now set a clear schedule for completing the decennial population count in 2027.

This announcement is likely to trigger a series of preparatory actions, including the finalisation of digital tools, training of enumerators, and updating of various administrative records.