Uttarakhand Census 2027 to be held from Dec 1 to Jan 4; self-enumeration begins Nov 16

Director of Census Operations Eva Ashish Srivastava on Monday clarified that the Census of India 2027 in Uttarakhand will be conducted as per the pre-scheduled timeline, dismissing reports of any delay or postponement in the exercise.

Director of Census Operations Eva Ashish Srivastava on Monday clarified that the Census of India 2027 in Uttarakhand will be conducted as per the pre-scheduled timeline, dismissing reports of any delay or postponement in the exercise. The ground-level census operations across the state will be carried out from December 1, 2026, to January 4, 2027.

Ahead of the field survey, citizens will also be provided with the facility of self-enumeration for a two-week period, beginning November 16 and concluding on November 30, 2026. Srivastava also addressed media reports regarding a fresh notification issued for other non-election states in the country, clarifying that those developments should not be linked to the census schedule in Uttarakhand.

She affirmed that there has been no change, deferment, or postponement in the scheduled census exercise in Uttarakhand, and the process will proceed smoothly as originally planned. Census 2027 is being conducted in two phases, with the first phase covering House Listing and Housing Census, followed by Population Enumeration. The first phase, which began in April 2026, focused on collecting information about housing conditions, household amenities and assets.

The second phase will involve the collection of individual-level demographic, social and economic details through a household schedule containing 40 questions. These include information related to age, marital status, religion, caste, education, employment, migration, disability and other demographic parameters. A significant feature of Census 2027 is comprehensive caste enumeration, making it the first census since Independence to collect caste-related details across all communities. Until the 2011 Census, systematic caste enumeration was limited to Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes. The decision to include comprehensive caste enumeration in the upcoming census was taken by the Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs on April 30, 2025.

Census 2027 is India's first digital census, with data collection being carried out through digital tools. Another major feature of Census 2027 is that it will be India's first digital census, with data collection being carried out through digital tools.

The Central government has approved an outlay of Rs 11,718.24 crore for conducting Census 2027 across the country. The exercise will cover 36 states and Union Territories, 7,092 sub-districts, 5,128 statutory towns, 4,580 census towns and approximately 6.39 lakh villages. (ANI)