India to conduct population census from January 25 to February 28, 2027; March 1 set as reference date

India's population census will be conducted from January 25 to February 28, 2027, across the country, with March 1, 2027, designated as the reference date, the Registrar General and Census Commissioner announced on Friday.

The exercise will cover all states and Union territories, barring certain poll-going states and snow-bound regions where the schedule will be notified separately.

According to a notification issued by Mritunjay Kumar Narayan, Registrar General of India and Census Commissioner, the reference date for the population count will be 00:00 hours on March 1, 2027.

Self-enumeration window from January 10

The government will also provide a self-enumeration facility ahead of the house-to-house population count. This option will remain open from January 10 to January 24, 2027, allowing people to submit their details before the physical enumeration begins.

A revisional round will subsequently be conducted between March 1 and March 5, 2027, the notification said.

The January 25-February 28 schedule will not apply to Manipur, until further orders, or to Goa, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Uttarakhand and Ladakh.

The snow-bound non-synchronous areas of Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir have also been excluded from the announced timeline.

The notification did not specify an alternative schedule for these regions.