Questions on caste for the Census will be notified before the second phase: Home Ministry to Parliament

The Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) informed the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday (February 4, 2026) that the questions on caste for the forthcoming Census will be notified before the commencement of the second phase of the Census operation.

The questions, including on caste, for the second phase would be finalised and notified as per established procedure, Minister of State for Home Nityanand Rai said in a written reply.

Responding to a question by Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) member Rajathi on whether the Ministry had received any representation from State governments, especially Tamil Nadu, recommending consultations with the States before finalising the guidelines for enumerating castes, the reply stated, “Several representations regarding the enumeration of caste have been received from various organisations of different States, including of the State of Tamil Nadu. The questions, including on caste, for the second phase will be finalised and notified as per the established procedure.”

The reply added that the intention of the Government of India in conducting Census 2027 had been notified. “In the Census, caste also will be enumerated in the second phase. In India, the Census operation is conducted in two phases. In the first phase, i.e., the House Listing Operation (HLO), information regarding housing conditions, assets, amenities, etc., of each household is collected. In the second phase, i.e., Population Enumeration (PE), the demographic, socioeconomic, cultural, and other details of every person are collected. The Government of India has notified (on January 22, 2026) the questions for the first phase. Questions for the second phase, including the questions on caste, will be notified before the commencement of the second phase of the Census operation,” the reply said.

As reported by The Hindu, the final questionnaire for caste enumeration is likely to be known only in September, when the second phase of the population Census 2027 will be carried out in Ladakh and the snow-bound areas of Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, and Uttarakhand, ahead of the rest of the country. The caste enumeration for all other States will be counted in February 2027.

This will be the 16th Census and the first in Independent India to count all castes, other than Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs).

The first phase of the Census across the country will commence on April 1 and conclude on September 30. The second phase will be concluded in February 2027.

However, both the phases would have been completed by September 30 in Ladakh and in the snow-bound areas of J&K, Himachal Pradesh, and Uttarakhand.