India Begins 2027 Caste Census: First Digital, Caste-Based Survey in Independent Era

New Delhi: India is gearing up for a landmark moment in data collection—the pretest for the country's first fully digital and caste-inclusive census since independence begins today. This isn't the full rollout yet; it's a crucial trial run to fine-tune the process ahead of the main event in 2027. Census 2027 aims to blend traditional door-to-door surveys with modern self-reporting tech, making it more inclusive and efficient.

When and What’s Happening in This First Phase?

The action starts right away with two key modules under the House Listing and Housing Census (HLO):

• Self-Enumeration Pre-Test: From November 1 to 7, selected households across all states and union territories can test an online portal and mobile app to input their own details. This is a big shift—citizens get to fill out forms themselves, reducing enumerator workload and boosting accuracy.
• HLO Pre-Test: Kicks in from November 10 to 30 in carefully chosen areas, where teams will visit homes to gather housing and basic demographic info.

The full census enumeration? That's slated for April 1, 2026, through February 28, 2027. Everything was greenlit by a government notification on October 16 from the Registrar General and Census Commissioner.

How Can People Get Involved?

No need to wait for a knock on the door—participation is hands-on and digital-first:

• Enumerators will drop by selected spots, hand over a secure portal link (kept under wraps to avoid crowds), and guide folks on filling it out.
• Expect about 30 straightforward questions: Think building numbers, roof/floor materials, family head's name and gender, resident count, water sources, electricity, toilets, cooking fuel, gadgets like TVs/computers/mobiles, and vehicles.
• If self-filling skips something, teams circle back during the HLO phase using a mobile app tied to the central Census Management and Monitoring System.
• A senior official called this "a test of the self-enumeration module's effectiveness," emphasizing it's limited to avoid bias or overload.

Pro tip: Links aren't public yet, so only invited households jump in for now. This builds on a 2019 dry run in 76 districts with 2.6 million people.

Government's Game Plan and What's Not Included

The center's all-in on modernization, but with caveats. No updates to the National Population Register (NPR) this round—the last tweak was 2015-16, as clarified in Lok Sabha. Caste-specific questions? Still in the works, so this phase sticks to housing basics. It's about ironing out kinks in tech and logistics before the big caste data dive.

Why This Matters: A Bit of Backstory

Post-independence, censuses skipped caste counts (except SC/ST tracking) to dodge social divides, but demands have surged for better affirmative action data. This 2027 edition flips the script—digital tools mean faster, error-free tallies, and self-enumeration empowers users. If it nails the pre-test, it could reshape policies on reservations, welfare, and equity.