Overview
- Union Home Minister Amit Shah officially announced that the 2027 census will include caste enumeration for the first time in independent India
- The census will be conducted entirely digitally using mobile devices, online apps and drop-down menus for caste selection in two phases starting March 2027
- Karnataka’s government has launched a fresh Socio-Economic and Education Survey to update its decade-old caste data with a 90-day completion target
- The BJP’s Uttar Pradesh minority wing is campaigning to ensure Muslim households report caste accurately, while Congress presses for a Telangana-style model and higher funding
- Officials say summary census data will be released within six months of enumeration’s end, detailed tables over the next three to five years, and no census is planned for 2031