Census 2027 from April 1 in phases, live-in couples may be counted as married

India’s next Census will begin from April 1, 2027, marking the 16th Census overall and the eighth since Independence, according to Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India Mritunjay Kumar Narayan.

Addressing the media in New Delhi, Narayan said the exercise will be conducted in two phases, starting with house listing and a self-enumeration process. The self-enumeration facility will be available for a 15-day window between April 1 and August 31, with schedules varying across states and Union Territories.

Following this, house listing operations will be carried out over a 30-day period, extending till September 30. Officials said the self-enumeration portal will be available in 16 languages to improve accessibility.

Amid these preparations, a clarification in the Census FAQ has stated that stable live-in couples may be treated as “married” for the purpose of enumeration. The guidance is intended to help enumerators classify households more consistently during data collection and does not imply any legal recognition of such relationships.

The Census traditionally records marital status under categories such as unmarried, married, widowed and divorced. The inclusion of long-term live-in couples under the “married” category, as indicated in the FAQ, is aimed at capturing household structures more accurately.

Narayan also said that Census 2027 will be conducted through digital means, with data collected via a mobile application alongside the option for self-enumeration. A web-based portal will be used to monitor and manage operations, while House Listing Block creation will be carried out using a web-mapping application.

He added that while questions for the first phase have already been notified, those for the second phase will be released later. The second phase will also include caste enumeration.

Originally scheduled for 2021 but delayed due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the upcoming Census is expected to generate updated data on population, housing and socio-economic indicators across the country.