The second phase of India's Census 2027, known as Population Enumeration (PE), is set to begin on September 1 in Ladakh and other snow-bound areas. The Union government has released ₹4,102 crore to states and union territories to facilitate this extensive data collection exercise.
Union Minister of State for Home Affairs, Nityanand Rai, informed the Rajya Sabha that this funding covers various aspects, including training for census functionaries, manpower assistance, technical infrastructure development, and honorarium payments. The first phase, the Houselisting and Housing Census, has already concluded in 31 states and UTs, with remaining regions expected to finish by September 2026.
Early Start for Snow-Bound Regions
The Population Enumeration phase will kick off early in Ladakh and other non-synchronous snow-bound areas of Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, and Uttarakhand. According to a Gazette notification dated August 3, 2026, the enumeration in these specific regions will take place from September 1 to September 30, 2026. A revisional round is scheduled from October 1 to October 5, 2026.
An option for self-enumeration will also be available for residents in these areas from August 17 to August 31, 2026. Digital tools have been specifically developed for this phase to streamline the process.
“Census 2027 will take off in Ladakh in a sense that self-enumeration for Ladakh as well as 16 snow-bound districts of J&K (partially) will start on August 17 till 31… After that, we will have population enumeration from September 1 to 30 for Ladakh as well as J&K,” Chief Principal Census Officer and Director, Census Operations (J&K and Ladakh) Amit Sharma stated, adding that Ladakh is poised to be the first UT to achieve 100% completion in this cycle due to its entirely snow-bound nature.
Caste Enumeration Included
A significant feature of the upcoming Population Enumeration phase is the inclusion of a comprehensive caste enumeration. This marks the first time such an exercise will be conducted since India's Independence. The PE questionnaire is designed to cover approximately 40 parameters and will feature an open-ended column to record caste details.
Project Scale and Funding
The Union Cabinet had previously approved Census 2027 in December 2025, with an estimated total cost of ₹11,718.24 crore. The ambitious project is expected to engage around 18,600 technical personnel at local levels for approximately 550 days, generating an estimated 1.02 crore man-days of employment. This will be India's 16th census overall and the eighth since Independence, conducted under the provisions of the Census Act, 1948, and Census Rules, 1990.