Census 2027 pre-test from November 10–30; digital self-enumeration to open from November 1

New Delhi, Oct 17: The Centre has announced that the pre-test for the house listing phase of Census 2027 will be conducted from November 10 to 30, 2025, in selected areas across all states and Union territories, according to a notification issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA). As reported by The Times of India, the pre-test, a crucial preparatory step ahead of India’s first fully digital Census,  will test the efficacy of questionnaires, data collection systems, and digital logistics. Citizens will have the option of self-enumeration through the Census portal between November 1 and 7, 2025, allowing them to fill in their household details online before field operations begin.

The pre-test will focus solely on the house listing and housing phase of the decennial exercise, which is scheduled to officially begin on April 1, 2026, under powers vested by Section 17A of the Census Act, 1948, read with Rule 6D of the Census Rules, 1990.

The MHA had earlier, on June 16, 2025, notified its intent to conduct Census 2027 — the first in India’s history to be conducted digitally, with March 1, 2027, as the reference date. For snow-bound areas in Ladakh, Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, and Uttarakhand, the reference date will be October 1, 2026.

Notably, caste enumeration,  being included for the first time since 1931, is expected to take place during the second phase, alongside population data collection. Unlike the 2011 Census, the government has clarified that no parallel updation of the National Population Register (NPR) will be undertaken this time. Sources quoted by TOI said the final population data is likely to be released by end-2027, paving the way for delimitation exercises and potentially facilitating the implementation of the women’s reservation in legislatures before the 2029 general elections.