India census data collected during Census 2027 must not be released to the press or used by officials or other authorities until further instructions, Registrar General and Census Commissioner Mrityunjay Kumar Narayan has told states and union territories.

Key Takeaways

  • The restriction covers provisional population figures and other census data drawn from enumeration or household schedules.
  • Census workers are collecting data digitally, with paper schedules permitted during technical or other operational difficulties.
  • Population enumeration in Goa, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab and specified areas of Uttarakhand is scheduled for December 1, 2026, to January 4, 2027.

India census data restrictions

In a communication to state chief secretaries and census officials, Narayan said information collected during the exercise is confidential and protected under the Census Act of 1948. Section 15 states that census records are not open to inspection or admissible as evidence.

The direction covers provisional population figures and other data based on enumeration or household schedules and abstracts. It applies until the Office of the Registrar General of India issues further instructions.

Digital collection and paper backup

Enumerators and supervisors are using their own mobile phones to collect information and submit it to a central server. Paper schedules may be used when technical problems, connectivity constraints or other field conditions prevent digital collection.

Paper records must subsequently be entered into the application. If an enumerator cannot do so, senior officers must facilitate entry through a designated portal. The charge officer must ensure entry is completed within seven days after the population enumeration period ends.

Census schedule and funding

The census has two phases: house listing and housing census, followed by population enumeration. The decennial exercise was originally scheduled for 2021 but was postponed because of the COVID-19 outbreak. The Union Cabinet has approved Rs 11,718 crore for the census.

Population enumeration is scheduled from December 1, 2026, to January 4, 2027, in Goa, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab and areas of Uttarakhand other than snow-bound areas because of assembly elections. House-listing operations in Manipur have been deferred.

The exercise took place from September 1 to 30 in Ladakh and snow-bound non-synchronous areas of Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand. In the rest of the country, it is likely to begin in February 2027.

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