India has begun one of the most extensive population exercises in history, launching its long-awaited census that will cover more than a billion people across the country. Reported by Soutik Biswas from BBC.
After a gap of over 15 years, this nationwide effort is set to provide a comprehensive snapshot of how Indians live, work, and access resources.
From questions about the type of roof over your home to the kind of cereal you consume, internet access, and household composition, citizens will be asked 33 detailed questions. These aim to capture not just identity but also living conditions and socio-economic realities.
The two-phase census, described as the world’s largest of its kind, will involve more than three million officials and is expected to take nearly a year to complete. This marks India’s 16th census and the eighth since independence in 1947. Notably, it will also include caste data, making it a critical tool for shaping public policy, welfare distribution, and political representation.
With a population exceeding 1.4 billion, India became the world’s most populous country in 2023, surpassing China, according to the United Nations Population Fund. Despite this, the country remains relatively young, with a median age of 28 and nearly 70% of its population in the working-age group.
The last census was conducted in 2011. The 2021 round was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic and later delayed further because of administrative and electoral constraints, marking the first time the decennial exercise missed its schedule.
This massive operation will span 36 states and union territories, over 7,000 sub-districts, around 9,700 towns, and nearly 640,000 villages. Enumerators—mainly schoolteachers, government employees, and local officials—will carry out the fieldwork.
For the first time, the census will go digital. Enumerators will use mobile applications to collect and upload data, while residents will also have the option of self-enumeration through a 16-language online portal that generates a unique identification code for verification.
There will be two stages of door-to-door surveys. The first phase, known as the House Listing and Housing Census, will gather data on housing conditions, amenities, and household assets.
The second phase, scheduled for February 2027, will focus on population enumeration, collecting information on demographics, education, migration, and fertility.
The initial rollout will begin in selected regions, including Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Delhi, Goa, Karnataka, Mizoram, and Odisha. In these areas, self-enumeration will take place from April 1 to April 15, followed by the housing survey from April 16 to May 15.
India’s census has evolved significantly over time. The first attempt in 1872 included just 17 questions and primarily recorded basic details such as age, religion, caste, and occupation. By 1881, the format had stabilised, focusing on identity and social indicators.
Over the decades, the scope expanded. By 1901, even English proficiency was included. A major shift came in 1941, when the census began to examine not just who people were, but how they lived—introducing questions on fertility, employment, migration, and economic dependency.
Post-independence censuses in 1951 and 1961 further broadened the scope to include nationality, land ownership, and displacement, especially in the context of Partition. From the 1970s onwards, the census adopted a more socio-economic approach, tracking migration patterns, employment categories, and living conditions in greater detail.
In recent decades, especially in 2001 and 2011, the census has reflected a rapidly modernising economy by including data on commuting, education, and detailed work classifications. The latest edition continues this trend, even recognising evolving social norms. For instance, couples in live-in relationships may now be recorded as married if they consider their “relationship as a stable union”.
However, as the census grows in scope, concerns about data usage have also increased. Some experts argue that initiatives like the National Population Register (NPR) and electoral roll revisions have heightened public anxiety, with fears that data collection could be linked to questions of citizenship.
"Although the census has nothing to do with citizenship, this can create anxiety, prompting some families to over-report or list absent migrant members during the census to avoid any perceived exclusion," says KS James, an Indian demographer at Princeton University.
Beyond these concerns lies a critical issue: India has been making policy decisions without updated population data. In the absence of a recent census, authorities have relied on sample surveys to estimate trends in consumption, employment, and demographics.
For economists like Ashwini Deshpande of Ashoka University, the census is essential for redefining India’s socio-economic map. Classifications of rural, urban, and peri-urban areas still rely on 2011 data, even though many regions have undergone significant transformation.
"That has real consequences for India's vast welfare and public spending system," says Deshpande.
Outdated classifications can lead to misallocation of resources and inaccurate estimates of beneficiaries in welfare schemes. Programmes such as rural employment guarantees depend heavily on accurate categorisation, which may have shifted significantly over the years.
Without updated data, millions of urban migrants—often working in informal sectors—remain underrepresented in policy planning, a gap that became especially visible during the COVID-19 pandemic.
"This census is crucial - it is the definitive snapshot of India, capturing everything from caste and religion to jobs, education and amenities, and offering the most complete picture of how the population lives," says Deshpande.
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