National
Census 2027 begins, and does it digitally
Census 2027's first phase, Houselisting and Housing, began on 1 April 2026: India's first digital census, with self-enumeration.
Phase I of Census 2027 — the Houselisting and Housing Census — began on 1 April 2026. The year in the name is the year of the population count; the field work starts well before it, which is the distinction a question is most likely to turn on.
This is India's first census with digital data capture and a self-enumeration facility: enumerators submit through a mobile app, and a household may fill in its own details rather than wait to be visited. President Droupadi Murmu was the first to self-enumerate, followed by Vice-President C.P. Radhakrishnan, the Prime Minister and the Home Minister. About 55,000 households used the facility on the day it opened, in Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Goa, Karnataka, Lakshadweep, Mizoram, Odisha, Sikkim and parts of Delhi.
The data is collected under the Census Act, 1948, which makes the individual record strictly confidential — the provision that makes an honest answer safe to give.
Test yourself
Question 1
Phase I of Census 2027 — the Houselisting and Housing Census — began on which date?
- A1 January 2026
- B1 April 2026
- C16 June 2026
- D1 October 2026
Show the answer and explanation
Correct answer: B
Explanation
The Houselisting and Housing Census is the first of the two phases, and it opened on 1 April 2026
The year in the census's name is the year of the population count, not of the first field work, which is why the two dates differ
- Concept
- Census 2027 phasing
- Typical time
- 40 seconds
- Written from
- pib.gov.in
Question 2
What makes Census 2027 a first for India?
- AIt is the first census to count households rather than individuals
- BIt is the first census with digital data capture and a self-enumeration facility
- CIt is the first census conducted after a constitutional amendment
- DIt is the first census to be conducted in a single phase
Show the answer and explanation
Correct answer: B
Explanation
Enumerators submit data through a mobile app, and a household may fill in its own details online rather than wait to be visited
About 55,000 households used the self-enumeration facility on the day it opened
The census has always counted both households and individuals, and it still runs in two phases
- Concept
- Digital census and self-enumeration
- Typical time
- 40 seconds
- Written from
- pib.gov.in
Question 3
Under which law is the information a household gives to the census kept confidential?
- AThe Right to Information Act, 2005
- BThe Registration of Births and Deaths Act, 1969
- CThe Census Act, 1948
- DThe Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023
Show the answer and explanation
Correct answer: C
Explanation
The Census Act, 1948 governs the exercise and makes the individual record strictly confidential
Confidentiality is what makes an honest answer safe to give, so it is stated in the announcement itself rather than left to be assumed
Births and deaths are registered under a separate 1969 Act, which is a continuous record and not a decennial count
- Concept
- The statutory basis of the census
- Typical time
- 45 seconds
- Written from
- pib.gov.in