India Gears Up For Census 2027: NDTV Decodes Census & Caste Count

After years of delay, India finally has dates for its next Census-October 2026 for the hill states, and March 2027 for the rest. This won't just be any headcount-it will be India's first digital census, where citizens can self-enter details via a mobile app, in their preferred language.

But what's making headlines isn't the tech. It's the expected inclusion of caste data-for the first time since 1931. That means we could finally know how many people actually belong to the OBC, Dalit, or other backward communities-data that could reshape reservations, welfare schemes, and even political boundaries.

The Census will unfold in two stages: first, officials record house and family data. Then, they return for population enumeration, collecting age, gender, caste, religion, education, and job details. This comes after 16 years, and could give India a true mirror to its social and economic reality. But as always, there's politics in the picture.