The Union Government on Friday (August 14, 2026) notified 40 questions, which among others asks will ask the respondents to record their “caste” during the Population Enumeration exercise, the second phase of Population Census 2027. This is the first time caste will be enumerated in Independent India, other than that of Scheduled Tribes and Scheduled Caste.

Question number 10 on the Census schedule reads “Scheduled Caste (SC)/ Scheduled Tribe (ST)/Caste.” Officials said that the enumerator will record the caste as declared by the respondent as it is an open column.

As reported by The Hindu on July 6, the rehearsal, or the “pre-test” for the PE phase, was conducted from July 1 to 20 in 16 States and Union Territories, where respondents, other than Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribes, recorded their castes in an “open column”, or the enumerator noted a resident’s caste as declared by them. The methodology is likely to be retained in the final form.

Mritunjay Kumar Narayan, the Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India (RG&CCI) notified the questions that census officials will be authorised to ask during the Census of India 2027, expanding the scope of data collection to include details such as Aadhaar numbers, mobile numbers, voter IDs, bank accounts and Covid-19 vaccination information, wherever available.

The questions have been notified days ahead of the second phase of Census, which begins in Ladakh and snow-bound areas of J&K, Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh on August 17, much before the rest of the country, where the exercise will take place in February 2027.

The notification, issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs under the Census Act, 1948, authorises census officers to collect information through the household schedule from every person residing in their assigned areas.

According to the notification, officials will gather 40 categories of information from residents. These include basic demographic details such as name, age, sex, marital status, spouse’s name, nationality, religion, caste or tribe and parental information.

The questionnaire wil seek information on education and skills, including literacy and digital literacy status, attendance in educational institutions, and the highest level of education attained. Language-related information, including mother tongue and other known languages, will also be recorded.

Respondents will be asked whether they worked during the previous year, their occupation, industry or service sector, class of worker and whether they are seeking employment. Information on travel to the workplace will also be collected.

The notification further provides for the collection of migration-related data, including place of birth, previous place of residence, reasons for migration and duration of stay at the current location since migration. Permanent residential address details will also be recorded.

For women who are currently married, widowed, divorced or separated, census officials will collect information on the number of children surviving, children ever born alive and, in some cases, births during the previous year.

Among the notable additions are questions on the place of Covid-19 vaccination, the total number of bank accounts, and identification-related details such as mobile number, Aadhaar number, voter ID number, passport number and driving licence availability, where applicable.

  • Name of the person
  • Relationship to head
  • Sex
  • Date of Birth and Age (in completed years)
  • Current Marital Status
  • Age at Marriage (in completed years)
  • Spouse Name
  • Nationality as declared
  • Religion
  • Scheduled Caste (SC)/ Scheduled Tribe (ST)/Caste
  • Father’s Particulars
  • Mother’s Particulars
  • Disability
  • Mother Tongue and other languages known
  • Literacy and digital literacy status
  • Status of attendance in educational institution
  • Highest educational level attained and Stream/Discipline
  • Worked any time during last year
  • Category of economic activity
  • Occupation
  • Nature of industry, trade or service
  • Class of worker
  • Non-economic activity (for marginal, semi-marginal and non-worker)
  • Seeking or available for work (for marginal, semi-marginal and non-worker)
  • Travel to place of work
  • Birth place
  • Place of last residence
  • Reason for migration
  • Duration of stay in this village/town since last migration
  • Permanent Residential Address
  • Number of children surviving at present (for currently married, widowed, divorced and separated women only)
  • Number of children ever born alive (for currently married, widowed, divorced and separated women only)
  • Number of children born alive during last one year (for currently married women only)
  • Place of Covid-19 Vaccination
  • Total number of Bank Accounts
  • Mobile Number (if available)
  • Aadhaar Number (if available)
  • Voter ID Number (if available)
  • Passport Number (if Indian Passport holder)
  • Availability of Driving License

Published - August 14, 2026 10:54 am IST