Census 2027: Questions on caste, Covid vaccination among 40 notified

The Centre on Friday notified 40 questions — caste, place of Covid vaccination being two of them — to be asked of respondents during the population enumeration phase of the Census, set to begin from September 1 in snow-bound areas, a government order said. The order from Registrar General of India Mrityunjay Kumar Narayan notifies questions such as whether the person belongs to a Scheduled Caste or a Scheduled Tribe and their caste. The population enumeration in Ladakh and snow-bound non-synchronous areas of Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand, will take place from September 1 to 30, according to a gazette notification issued earlier this month. The decision to include caste enumeration was taken by the Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on April 30 last year.Population enumeration in the rest of the country will begin next year.

MHA has notified the Household Schedule for Census of India 2027.

The schedule covers 40 key parameters, including demographic details, education, employment, migration, disability, digital literacy, bank accounts, mobile number, Aadhaar, Voter ID, passport and driving… pic.twitter.com/Zh1rEN1mzp

— Central Secretariat Service Forum (@CSSforum_) August 14, 2026

The 40 questions will seek personal details including marital status, age at marriage, spouse's name, nationality, religion, SC/ST status, caste, details of parents, disability, mother tongue and other languages known, literacy and digital literacy. Respondents will also be asked about their attendance at an educational institution, highest educational qualification, stream and discipline. The questionnaire will cover employment-related details, including whether a person worked at any time during the previous year, category of economic activity, occupation, nature of industry, trade or service, and class of worker.