2027 census of India

The 2027 census of India, or the 16th Indian census, is to be conducted in two phases, a house listing phase and a population enumeration phase. Although initially the house listing was to begin in April 2020 along with the updating of the National Population Register, and the population enumeration on 9 February 2021, they have been continuously postponed. The national census is set to begin on March 1, 2027, after multiple delays since its original 2021 schedule. This 16th census will include caste enumeration for the first time since 1931. Certain regions like Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand will commence the census earlier, starting from October 1, 2026. This census is expected to serve as the basis for redistributing seats in the Lok Sabha for the 2029 general election as part of the delimitation exercise.

In September 2019, Union Home Minister Amit Shah had stated that the 2021 national census would be done fully digitally through a mobile phone application, and will be carried out in 16 languages. In February 2021, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman allocated ₹37.68 billion (US$450 million) for the census in the 2021 Union budget of India. It was delayed to 2022 and then further delayed to 2023 due to the COVID-19 pandemic in India. Following the postponement of the deadline of freezing administrative boundaries to 30 June 2023, and owing to the general elections in 2024, it was apparent in early 2023 that the census would not take place earlier than late 2024. This was confirmed in July 2023, when the Government of India extended the deadline to freeze the administrative boundaries to 1 January 2024, ruling out the census exercise before the 2024 Indian general election. On 20 September 2023, Union Home Minister Amit Shah informed during the discussion on Women's Reservation Bill that census and the delimitation exercise will take place after the Lok Sabha elections in 2024. On 30 December 2023, the deadline to freeze the administrative boundaries was further extended to 30 June 2024, thereby postponing the census to at least October 2024 as it would have required three months to identify and train enumerators.