Census 2027: The 14 questions and why opposition fears an NPR 'backdoor'
Population Enumeration, the second phase of Census 2027, began in Ladakh and the snow-bound, non-synchronous areas of Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, and Uttarakhand from 1 September 2026, ahead of the rest of the country, with an optional self-enumeration facility that had opened from 17–31 August 2026.
The Census 2027 schedule carries 14 new or modified questions compared with earlier Census rounds, covering items such as nationality as declared, parents' particulars (including place of birth), Scheduled Caste/Scheduled Tribe and caste details, digital literacy, bank accounts, mobile number, Aadhaar, voter ID, passport, and driving licence.
Concerns have been raised that several of these questions overlap with the schedule used for the National Population Register (NPR), reviving debate over whether Census data collection is functioning as a preparatory step for NPR/NRC-linked exercises; officials have maintained that Census and NPR remain legally and procedurally distinct exercises.
Census data collected under the Census Act, 1948 is statutorily confidential, and this legal protection is central to responses on how the information can and cannot be used.
The Census Act, 1948 and Data Confidentiality
The decennial Census in India is conducted under the Census Act, 1948, a central legislation that empowers the Union Government to conduct a synchronous population count and imposes a legal duty on citizens to answer census questions truthfully. Section 15 of the Act provides that no person can access individual census records, and that such records are not admissible in evidence in any proceeding, even in a court of law — a confidentiality guarantee that overrides other laws, including the RTI Act, for individual-level data.
Key Details
- Section 8 of the Census Act, 1948 obliges every person to answer questions put by a census officer.
- Section 15 bars inspection of individual Census records and their use as evidence in any civil, criminal, or other legal proceeding; only aggregated data (state, district, sub-district, village/town level) is published.
- Census is conducted under entry 69 of the Union List (Seventh Schedule) making it a central subject; the Registrar General & Census Commissioner of India (under the Ministry of Home Affairs) is the nodal authority.
- Census 2027 is India's 16th Census and its first digital census, being conducted in two phases: Houselisting and Housing Census, followed by Population Enumeration; it is also the first Census to include caste enumeration since 1931 for OBCs and others beyond SC/ST.
The statutory confidentiality under Section 15 is the legal basis officials cite when addressing concerns about the 14 new questions — individual answers, including on sensitive fields like religion or caste, are legally shielded from disclosure, unlike NPR data, which does not carry the same blanket evidentiary bar.
National Population Register (NPR) and Its Legal Basis
The NPR is a register of every "usual resident" of India, maintained under Section 14A of the Citizenship Act, 1955 (inserted by the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2003) read with the Citizenship (Registration of Citizens and Issue of National Identity Cards) Rules, 2003. Unlike the Census, which is a pure statistical count protected by confidentiality, the NPR is explicitly designed as a step toward a National Register of Indian Citizens (NRIC), and registration in it is compulsory for every usual resident.
Key Details
- Legal basis: Section 14A, Citizenship Act, 1955 and Rule 3 of the Citizenship (Registration of Citizens and Issue of National Identity Cards) Rules, 2003.
- The NPR was first compiled in 2010 (alongside Census houselisting) and last updated in 2015; it is distinct from the National Register of Citizens (NRC), which currently exists only for Assam under a Supreme Court-monitored process.
- A "usual resident" for NPR purposes is a person who has resided in a local area for at least six months or intends to reside there for the next six months.
- Some of the 2027 Census schedule's new or modified fields (nationality, parents' details, identity documents) mirror categories that were also part of the NPR schedule notified in 2020, which is the basis of the overlap concern.
Because Census and NPR data collection have historically been carried out together (Census houselisting has doubled as the NPR update round in the past), overlapping questions in the 2027 Census schedule are being read by critics as a functional link to NPR, even though the two operate under separate statutes with different confidentiality and legal consequences.
- Census 2027 Phase II (Population Enumeration) in Ladakh and snow-bound J&K/Himachal Pradesh/Uttarakhand areas: 1–30 September 2026, with a revisional round 1–5 October 2026 (self-enumeration window: 17–31 August 2026).
- Census 2027 is India's 16th Census since 1872 and the first fully digital Census.
- 14 new/modified questions in the 2027 Census schedule versus earlier rounds, including caste enumeration extended beyond SC/ST.
- Census Act, 1948, Section 15: individual records barred from inspection and inadmissible as evidence; Section 8: mandatory duty to answer.
- NPR legal basis: Section 14A, Citizenship Act, 1955 (inserted 2003) and Citizenship Rules, 2003; NPR first prepared in 2010, updated in 2015.
- Census falls under Entry 69, Union List, Seventh Schedule of the Constitution.