Census 2027: Full list of 40 questions, including those on caste, to be asked in Phase 2

The Union government notified on Friday a list of 40 questions to be asked of respondents during the population enumeration phase of the Census. It includes first-time queries on caste.

The Population Enumeration (PE) is part of the second phase of the Census 2027. "Comprehensive caste enumeration will be done during the Population Enumeration phase," the Centre had said earlier.

In reply to the Rajya Sabha earlier this week, the government said that 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.

Now, the latest 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 order states, "In exercise of the powers conferred by sub-section (1) of section 8 of the Census Act, 1948 (37 of 1948), the Central Government hereby instructs and directs that the census officers may, within the limits of the local area for which they have been respectively appointed, ask all such questions of all persons residing within such limits, pertaining to the items enumerated below, for collecting information through the Household Schedule in connection with the Census of India 2027..."

Full list of 40 questions to be asked during Census 2027:

1. Name of the person

2. Relationship to head

3. Sex

4. Date of Birth and Age (in completed years)

5. Current Marital Status

6. Age at Marriage (in completed years)

7. Spouse Name

8. Nationality as declared

9. Religion.

10. Scheduled Caste (SC)/ Scheduled Tribe (ST)/Caste

11. Father's Particulars

12. Mother's Particulars

13. Disability

14. Mother Tongue and other languages known

15. Literacy and digital literacy status

16. Status of attendance in educational institution

17. Highest educational level attained and Stream/Discipline

18. Worked any time during last year

19. Category of economic activity

20. Occupation

21. Nature of industry, trade or service

22. Class of worker

23. Non-economic activity (for marginal, semi-marginal and non-worker)

24. Secking or available for work (for marginal, semi-marginal and non-worker)

25. Travel to place of work

26. Birth place

27. Place of Inst residence

28. Reason for migration

29. Duration of stay in this village/town since last migration

30. Permanent Residential Address

31. Number of children surviving at present (for currently married, widowed, divorced and separated women only)

32. Number of children ever born alive (for currently married, widowed, divorced and separated women only)

33. Number of children born alive during last one year (for currently married women only)

34. Place of Covid-19 Vaccination

35. Total number of Bank Accounts

36. Mobile Number (if available)

37. Aadhaar Number (if available)

38. Voter ID Number (if available)

39. Passport Number (if Indian Passport holder)

40. Availability of Driving License

Census 2027: Phase 1 and Phase 2 details

Last year in December, the Union Cabinet said it approved the proposal for conducting Census of India 2027 and revealed a plan for conducting the Census of India 2027, saying the exercise would be conducted in two phases:

(i) Houselisting and Housing Census (April to September, 2026): To be held in a period of 30 days in each State/ UT, as per the convenience of the State/UT Governments. There will also be an option of Self-enumeration during a 15-day period just before the 30-day period of house-to-house HLO work. This phase will gather detailed information on housing conditions, availability of amenities, and assets possessed by households, while also creating the essential frame for the subsequent phase.

(ii) Population Enumeration (PE) in February 2027: Will focus on capturing detailed demographic, socio-economic, cultural, migration, and fertility-related information of individuals across households. As decided by the CCPA, enumeration of Castes will also be done during the second phase of Census.

For UT of Ladakh and snow-bound non-synchronous areas of UT of Jammu and Kashmir and States of Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh, Phase II will be conducted during September 2026.

The progress so far

The first phase of the Census 2027, which involves houselisting and Housing Census, has been completed in 31 States/UTs, Minister of State in the Ministry of Home Affairs, Nityanand Rai, said in response to a question in the Rajya Sabha earlier this week.

“In the remaining states, the first phase of the census is scheduled to be completed by September, 2026,” he said.

Sharing an update on the second phase of Census 2026, the minister said that as per the notification dated August 3, 2026 in the Gazette of India, "the second phase of the Census i.e. Population Enumeration in the UT of Ladakh and the snow-bound non-synchronous areas of the UT of Jammu & Kashmir and the snow-bound non-synchronous areas of the States of Himachal Pradesh and Uttrakhand shall be undertaken from 1st September, 2026 to 30th September, 2026 with a revisional round from 1st October, 2026 to 5th October, 2026."