The Importance of the Census Explained

The Indian government is set to conduct its 16th decennial Census in 2027, marking the first time since 1931 that caste will be enumerated alongside a fully digital data-collection exercise. This significant move towards modernising the Census process will cost approximately ₹13,000 crore and will employ 30 lakh enumerators, primarily teachers.

The Census will utilise an encrypted offline-sync architecture to bridge connectivity gaps, a mobile app, and 16 languages, including an optional self-enumeration portal. To ensure coverage equity, the Census will deploy offline-sync and QR-based household IDs, continue parallel paper schedules for areas with ≤2G connectivity, and provide solar-powered tablets in blackout districts.

The digital Census strategy, as outlined in the PIB's 2025 document, includes a mobile app, cloud backend, and Aadhaar-based verifier (opt-in) for the first fully digital count. The Census will also pilot a Self-Enumeration Portal, a web/mobile interface letting citizens pre-fill schedules.

To address data privacy and localisation concerns, the government has decided to host the census cloud within the National Informatics Centre and certify the app through CERT-In.

For the first time since 1931, caste will be enumerated in the Census. An Independent Caste-Data Review Board will verify the taxonomy and prevent inflating sub-castes, shielding the exercise from politicization.

The 2027 Census aims to correct data dark spots, including migration, disability, and gender identity. It will dovetail with the National Geospatial Policy (2022) and the PM-Gati Shakti master plan, allowing demographic layers to be overlaid with infrastructure corridors and disaster-risk atlases.

The safeguards to ensure that the 2027 Census in India, with its digital architecture and caste enumeration, strengthens rather than weakens cooperative federalism include:

Comprehensive review and integration of caste data into social and political policies: The census data should lead to an inclusive and evidence-based review of social protection and reservation policies, such as removing arbitrary caps and expanding political representation proportionally for marginalized groups (OBCs, EBCs) in state assemblies and Parliament, reflecting social realities accurately and fairly.
Sensitive delimitation exercise: After the census, delimitation of electoral constituencies should be conducted with full sensitivity to the updated caste and demographic data, ensuring proportional political representation for marginalized and diverse groups, thus reinforcing federal balance among states.
Judicial and constitutional oversight: Institutional frameworks emphasizing constitutional ideals of federalism, pluralism, social justice, and transparency must guide census data use. This includes encouragement of independent and impartial judicial authorities and bodies that uphold constitutional values beyond partisan interests, securing federal cooperation.
Strengthening democratic and electoral infrastructure: Addressing systemic flaws, such as voter deletion affecting migrant citizens, requires updating democratic processes compatible with migratory and social realities; this ensures that all states and their populations are fairly represented and engaged in decision-making.
Institutional safeguards for data integrity and autonomy: Establishing robust institutional mechanisms like independent electoral and data agencies with sufficient autonomy and transparency (akin to suggested reforms for Election Commission independence) can protect census operations and data from politicization, thereby supporting federal trust.

Together, these measures build a framework where the 2027 digital census and caste enumeration serve as tools for more equitable representation and federal cooperation, rather than sources of division or disenfranchisement.

The digital Census workflow is expected to compress the time from enumeration to final tables to approximately 18 months. The Census aims to provide evidence for welfare and legal triggers, such as women's reservation and post-2026 delimitation. The Census will use a House-Listing Schedule, a 35-item module capturing built-environment and amenities.