Census 2027 to include question related to caste, a first in independent India

Indian citizens will be asked their caste during surveys to be conducted as part of the Census 2027, according to a new Gazette notification issued by the Union Ministry of Home Affairs on August 14, 2026.

The question on caste will be among 13 new ones that were not part of the Census 2011 exercise. The questionnaire for Census 2011 had 29 queries.

The question related to caste is ranked number 10 in the new questionnaire and reads: “Scheduled Caste (SC)/ Scheduled Tribe (ST)/Caste.”

The enumeration of caste in the census will be a first in independent India.

The notification issued by Registrar General of India and Census Commissioner, Mrityunjay Kumar Narayan on August 14 reads:

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, namely: -

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

25. Travel to place of work

26. Birth place

27. Place of last 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

The questions have been notified as the second phase of Census 2027 begins in Ladakh and the snow-bound areas of Jammu and Kashmir, Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh on August 17. Across most of India though, the exercise will take place in February 2027.