Centre Issues Notification for the 2027 Census | Uttarakhand | 17 Jun 2025

Why in News?

The central government has officially notified the conduct of the next decennial census in 2027, exercising its authority under Section 3 of the Census Act, 1948.

This notification supersedes an earlier order from March 2019, which had initially set the schedule for the Census in 2021 but was delayed due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Note: Under Section 3, the Central Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, declare its intention of taking a census in the whole or any part of the territories to which this Act extends, whenever it may consider it necessary or desirable to do so, and there upon the census shall be taken.

Key Points

Updated Census Schedule:
- The Census will have a reference date of 1st March, 2027, for most parts of the country.
- However, regions like Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh, Himachal Pradesh, and Uttarakhand, which face logistical challenges due to snow and difficult terrain, will follow an earlier reference date of 1st October, 2026.
  - This adjustment allows for more accurate data collection in these areas.
Census:
- About:
  - The Indian Census is the largest source of demographic and socio-economic data on the country’s population.
  - India's first synchronised census occurred in 1881 under W.C. Plowden, the then Census Commissioner of India.
  - It has consistently provided detailed statistical information every 10 years, starting in 1872, when the first non-synchronous census was conducted across different regions of India.
- Legal Framework and Institutional Evolution:
  - The Census Act of 1948 was enacted to create a legal framework for census operations and to define the roles of census officers.
    - While the Act provides the legal framework, it does not mandate a specific frequency, making the decennial pattern a convention, not a constitutional requirement.
  - In May 1949, the Government of India established a permanent Census organization under the Ministry of Home Affairs to systematize the collection of population and demographic data.
  - The Office of the Registrar General was later tasked with implementing the Registration of Births and Deaths Act, 1969, further expanding its role in maintaining vital statistics.