PANAJI
The Union Ministry of Home Affairs has advanced the schedule for the second phase of Census 2027 in Goa, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab and Uttarakhand, a move that has sparked speculation about its possible link to upcoming Assembly elections due in February-March and constituency-related exercises.
According to the circular issued by the ministry, the population enumeration phase in Goa, Uttar Pradesh and Punjab will be conducted between December 1, 2026 and January 4, 2027, followed by a revisional round from January 5 to 9, 2027.
Uttarakhand will follow the same schedule, barring its snow-bound regions.
The exercise in the rest of the country will be carried out later, from February 9 to 28, 2027.
The revised schedule assumes significance as Goa, Uttar Pradesh and Punjab are among the States due to go to the polls in early 2027.
In Goa, the move is also being viewed in the context of the long-pending exercise to provide reservation for Scheduled Tribe communities in the Legislative Assembly, which requires updated demographic data.
The second phase of the census will include a self-enumeration option. Goa residents will be able to submit their details online in an earlier window between November 16 and 30, 2026 before the door-to-door enumeration begins from December 1 this year and January 4 next year.
The upcoming phase will be far more detailed than the 2011 Census. Officials will collect information through a questionnaire containing around 40 questions, including ten additional queries not asked in previous census exercises.
Apart from basic details such as name, age and gender, the census will seek information on nationality, bank accounts, Aadhaar, passport, voter identity card, mobile phone ownership, parents' details and Covid-19 vaccination particulars.
Citizens will also be required to disclose their marital status, age at marriage, religion, mother tongue, other languages known, literacy and digital literacy levels, educational qualifications, employment status, occupation and migration history.
Information on Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe status, disability, place of birth, permanent address and reasons for migration will also be collected.
Married, widowed, divorced or separated women will be asked to provide details of their living children.
The first phase of Census 2027, covering housing conditions and household amenities, has already been completed, where online self-reporting had also been made available.
Early census: Congress sees politics
Congress general secretary and communications chief Jairam Ramesh on Saturday questioned the Centre's decision to advance Census 2027 population enumeration in Goa, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab and Uttarakhand, alleging it pointed to "nefarious political calculations".
In a post on X, Ramesh said the move reflected "shoddy planning" as elections in the affected States were already known to be due early next year and asked what had led to the "sudden dawn of wisdom" in the Union government.
Ramesh also attacked the proposed caste enumeration framework claiming the caste-related question in the census questionnaire was "poorly designed" and could render the entire caste census exercise meaningless.
He said the Leaders of Opposition in the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha had written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on August 20, urging changes to the format and recommending the Bihar and Telangana models but those suggestions were ignored.
