The census will be carried out in two stages, following the structure adopted in previous decennial exercises. Phase I will focus on the listing of houses and the collection of household-level data, while Phase II will involve population enumeration and is scheduled to conclude in February 2027. The reference date for the population count has been fixed as midnight of March 1, 2027.
As part of the new framework, the government has introduced a provision for self-enumeration, allowing households to submit details digitally for a period of 15 days before the start of door-to-door houselisting. The exact schedule for self-enumeration will be notified separately by individual states and Union Territories.
The Ministry of Home Affairs has stated that states and UTs will have flexibility in determining the operational timeline for the houselisting phase within the notified window. However, officials indicated that the first phase is expected to be completed within a span of about 30 days in each region, depending on local administrative readiness.
A major feature of Census 2027 will be its technology-driven, paperless approach. The enumeration process will rely heavily on mobile applications, dedicated portals and real-time data transfer systems. AI-based intelligent character recognition tools will be deployed to digitise any handwritten inputs, while GPS tagging and pre-coded drop-down menus are expected to minimise errors and ensure data consistency.
Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw has said that nearly three million enumerators and supervisors will be involved in the exercise. The census will be conducted using Census-as-a-Service (CaaS) software, which has been designed with strict data security and privacy safeguards.
The government has approved a total budget of ₹11,718.24 crore for Census 2027. This translates to an estimated expenditure of ₹97 per person, officials said, underlining the scale and logistical complexity of the operation.
A nationwide awareness campaign is also planned to familiarise citizens with digital enumeration tools and encourage participation. With the notification now issued, preparatory work at the state and district levels is expected to accelerate in the coming months.
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