Caste enumeration will be done along with census operations in Uttar Pradesh, the state’s chief principal census officer, Sheetal Verma, said on Saturday while addressing the media in Lucknow.
She said, "We reach out to every ordinary citizen and enumerate them. We conduct a count of households and gather information regarding household assets. When we go to Phase 2, which is scheduled for February 2027, we will focus on a wide range of individual characteristics and personal attributes.”
"For instance, we collect data on fertility, literacy levels, and the nature of one's occupation. This time, a caste enumeration will also be conducted. A caste-based census will indeed be carried out." She added that the census that is about to be conducted will be the eighth since Independence and the 16th in the series that started in the 1880s.
In 1881, a nationwide census was conducted simultaneously across the entire country.
"In the context of population, if you are ordinarily residing in a particular location, you are considered part of that area's population and will be enumerated. Unless you possess diplomatic immunity or are a citizen of another country, you will be counted as part of the population," Verma said, adding that territory refers to the geographical area, the boundaries of which are effectively "frozen" for the purpose of the exercise.
As of December 31, 2025, all revenue and administrative units across the entirety of India have been frozen until March 31, 2027, and "no new tehsil will be created, no new state will be formed, no new revenue village will be established, and no new administrative block will be constituted", she said.
"The rationale behind this measure is that once the population enumeration is complete, the resulting data is published revenue-village-wise and ward-wise," the officer told reporters.
Later, in a statement issued here, she said the Census 2027 exercise will be conducted digitally for the first time in the country, with self-enumeration available as an option, which can be undertaken between May 7 and 21, ahead of the house-listing operations in the state. Under the self-enumeration option, individuals can fill in their details online — at se.census.gov.in. However, self-enumeration is voluntary and not mandatory, she noted.
For this task in the state, approximately 5.25 lakh officers and employees have been deployed, comprising 18 divisional census officers (divisional commissioners), 75 principal census officers (district magistrates), 17 additional principal census officers (municipal commissioners), and 600 district-level officers, and others, in addition to enumerators and supervisors, according to the statement. It will cover 1,04,000 villages spanning 75 districts, 783 urban local bodies, and 350 tehsils, the statement said.
The Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, decided to include caste enumeration in the upcoming census on April 30 last year.
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