Caste, COVID vaccine, bank accounts, voter/aadhaar: The big changes in census 2027
The Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India (RGCCI) notified a 40-question household schedule for the population enumeration phase of Census 2027.
For the first time since Independence, the schedule includes a question on caste for every respondent, not only Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs).
The new schedule expands from 29 questions used in Census 2011 to 40 questions, adding 13 new data fields covering digital literacy, Aadhaar and mobile numbers, bank accounts, voter ID, passport possession, and place of COVID-19 vaccination.
Census 2027 will be conducted in two phases: House Listing and Housing Census (Phase I) and the Population Enumeration exercise carrying the caste question (Phase II).
The methodology for recording caste — an "open column" where respondents state their caste in their own words rather than choosing from a pre-set list — was tested in a pre-test exercise before the final schedule was notified.
Constitutional and Statutory Basis of the Census
The Census is a Union subject under Entry 69 of List I (Union List) of the Seventh Schedule to the Constitution (Article 246), giving Parliament exclusive legislative competence over census operations. The statutory framework for conducting it is the Census Act, 1948, under which the RGCCI issues notifications on schedules, questions, and enumeration procedures.
Key Details
- Entry 69, Union List (Seventh Schedule, Article 246) — "Census."
- Census Act, 1948 provides the legal machinery: appointment of Census Commissioner, duty of citizens to answer questions truthfully, and confidentiality of individual data under Section 15.
- Because it is a Union List subject, states cannot independently alter the census questionnaire or methodology, even though states administer enumeration on the ground.
The RGCCI's notification of the 40-question schedule is an exercise of this exclusive Union legislative and administrative competence — states can request additions but the Centre finalises the schedule.
Caste Enumeration — First Since 1931
India last recorded caste data for all communities (not just SC/ST) in the 1931 Census, conducted under British colonial administration. Every census after Independence enumerated only SC and ST status, not general caste identity, largely due to concerns about hardening social divisions and administrative complexity in classification.
Key Details
- Caste is listed as a specific question in the notified 40-question household schedule; SC/ST status continues to be recorded using pre-existing official community codes.
- For all other respondents, caste will be recorded using an "open column" method — enumerators write down the caste name as stated by the respondent, rather than selecting from a fixed dropdown list.
- This is distinct from the earlier Socio-Economic and Caste Census (SECC) 2011, which collected caste data separately from the main Census.
Census 2027 mainstreams caste enumeration into the decennial Census itself for the first time in independent India's history, rather than running it as a parallel exercise as was done in 2011.
Lessons from SECC 2011
The Socio-Economic and Caste Census (SECC) 2011 was a separate exercise (not part of the decennial Census) that collected both socio-economic indicators and caste data. While socio-economic findings were published in 2016, the caste data was never officially released.
Key Details
- SECC 2011 generated a reported 46,73,034 raw entries of caste, sub-caste, surname, gotra, and clan-name variants due to open-ended data collection without standardisation, making the dataset difficult to classify and validate.
- The government told courts the caste component of SECC 2011 data was "unusable" due to these classification errors, and it remains officially unreleased.
- Census 2027's open-column approach for caste mirrors SECC 2011's method rather than adopting a fixed list, but is now paired with the authority and rigour of the main decennial Census framework rather than being a standalone exercise.
The choice to test the "open column" method in a pre-test before finalising Census 2027's approach reflects an attempt to avoid the classification and standardisation problems that made SECC 2011's caste data unusable.
Census as the Base for Welfare and Delimitation
Census data forms the statistical foundation for a wide range of constitutional and policy processes, including delimitation of constituencies, allocation of central funds and Finance Commission transfers, and eligibility criteria for reservation and welfare schemes.
Key Details
- Article 82 provides for readjustment of Lok Sabha seats after "each census," though the 84th and 87th Constitutional Amendments have frozen delimitation on 1971 population figures until after the first census conducted after 2026.
- Caste-disaggregated Census data, once available, could feed into future evaluations of reservation ceilings and OBC sub-categorisation exercises undertaken by bodies such as state Backward Classes Commissions.
- The new digital-financial fields (Aadhaar, bank accounts, mobile numbers) align Census 2027 with Digital India infrastructure, potentially improving direct benefit transfer (DBT) targeting.
The expanded questionnaire is designed not just to count population but to generate granular data usable for future policymaking, welfare scheme design, and — pending political and legal processes — delimitation.
- Census 2027 household schedule: 40 questions, up from 29 in Census 2011 — 13 new data fields added.
- New fields include: caste, Aadhaar number, mobile number, number of bank accounts, voter ID, passport possession, and location of COVID-19 vaccination.
- Phase I (House Listing and Housing Census): April 1, 2026 to September 30, 2026.
- Phase II (Population Enumeration, including caste question): February 2027.
- Last full caste enumeration of all communities: 1931 Census (colonial era).
- Legal basis: Census Act, 1948; constitutional basis: Entry 69, Union List, Seventh Schedule (Article 246).
- SECC 2011 caste data: collected but never officially released due to classification/quality issues.