Census 2027: Population Count Phase Set for January 25 to February 28, 2027
The second phase of Census 2027, called Population Enumeration (counting every person and recording their details), will be held in Kerala from January 25 to February 28, 2027.
In this phase, details of every person are collected: age, sex, education, work, religion, language, migration and more. For the first time since Independence, the caste of all people will also be recorded.
The reference date for the census is 00:00 hours on March 1, 2027. This means the count is a "snapshot" of India's population at that exact moment. For snow-bound areas (Ladakh and snow-bound parts of Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand), the reference date is October 1, 2026.
The first phase, Houselisting and Housing Census (listing every building and house and its facilities), was held across India between April and September 2026. In Kerala, an online self-enumeration window ran from June 16 to June 30, 2026, and house-to-house listing ran from July 1 to July 30, 2026.
Census 2027 is India's first fully digital census: data is collected on mobile apps, and people can also fill in their own details online (self-enumeration).
Census of India: Constitutional and Legislative Basis
The census is the official count of every person living in India, done roughly once every ten years. It also records details of each person and house. The power to hold a census belongs to the Union: "Census" is Entry 69 of the Union List in the Seventh Schedule. The actual rules come from the Census Act, 1948, and the work is done by the Office of the Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India, under the Ministry of Home Affairs.
The January 25 to February 28, 2027 window in Kerala is the state's slot for the second, person-by-person phase of the census. The data gathered here, counted as of March 1, 2027, will be India's official population figure for the next decade.
Caste Enumeration in the Census: From 1931 to Census 2027
Caste enumeration means recording the caste of every person during the census. Since Independence, the census has counted only Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs), because the Constitution gives them reserved seats and special protection. The last census that recorded all castes was in 1931, under British rule. Census 2027 brings back full caste counting.
The phase scheduled from January 25 to February 28, 2027 in Kerala is the phase in which every household will be asked about caste. This makes it the first nationwide caste count in nearly a hundred years.
Delimitation in India (Articles 82 and 170)
Delimitation means fixing how many Lok Sabha and Assembly seats each state gets and redrawing the boundaries of constituencies, so that each elected member represents roughly the same number of people. Article 82 (Lok Sabha) and Article 170 (state Assemblies) say this must be readjusted after each census. It is done by an independent Delimitation Commission, whose orders cannot be challenged in court.
The population counted in this phase will decide how seats are shared between states in the future. That is why the timing and accuracy of the 2027 count matter well beyond statistics.
- Census 2027 Phase 2 (Population Enumeration) in Kerala: January 25 to February 28, 2027
- Reference date: 00:00 hours, March 1, 2027 (October 1, 2026 for snow-bound areas of Ladakh, J&K, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand)
- Phase 1 (Houselisting): April 1 to September 30, 2026 nationally; in Kerala, self-enumeration June 16 to 30 and house listing July 1 to 30, 2026
- Legal basis: Census Act, 1948; Census is Entry 69, Union List, Seventh Schedule
- Census notified on June 16, 2025, under Section 3 of the Census Act, 1948
- Caste of all persons to be recorded for the first time since 1931
- First digital census in India; last census held in 2011