India's Home Secretary Orders Jurisdictional Freeze Ahead of Digital Census 2027

Home Secretary Directs States on Jurisdictional Stability

In a significant move to ensure the smooth and accurate conduct of the upcoming Population Census 2027, Union Home Secretary Govind Mohan on Friday, January 23, 2026, issued a directive to all States and Union Territories across India. The directive mandates that no jurisdictional changes, such as alterations to administrative boundaries of districts, sub-districts, tehsils, talukas, police stations, or revenue villages, should be effected until March 31, 2027.

The instruction was delivered during a conference attended by Chief Secretaries of States/Union Territories, State Census Nodal Officers, and senior officials from the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) and Directors of Census Operations. This moratorium on boundary changes is a standard preparatory step for census exercises, aiming to maintain stable administrative units for data collection and avoid complexities that could arise from shifting demographics and geographical divisions during the enumeration period.

Preparations for India's First Digital Census

The Census 2027 marks a pivotal moment as it will be India's 16th Census overall and the 8th since independence, following delays from its original 2021 schedule due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This census is set to be the country's first entirely digital enumeration. Data collection will primarily utilize mobile applications, with provisions for self-enumeration through a dedicated government portal, allowing citizens a 15-day window to submit their details online.

The census will be conducted in two distinct phases:

• Houselisting and Housing Census: This initial phase is scheduled to run from April to September 2026. Each State and Union Territory will select a specific 30-day window within this period to conduct the houselisting. The Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India (RG&CCI) notified 33 questions for this phase on January 22, 2026, which include new inquiries on internet use and cooking fuel, expanding from the previous 31 questions.
• Population Enumeration: The second phase, involving the actual headcount, is slated for February 2027 for most of the country. However, for snow-bound and difficult-to-access regions such as Ladakh, Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, and Uttarakhand, this phase will commence earlier, in October 2026. Notably, this census will also include caste enumeration, a feature returning for the first time since 1931.

Significance and State Cooperation

The census, conducted under the legal framework of the Census Act of 1948, is a monumental administrative and statistical exercise. It provides crucial micro-level data on various parameters including housing conditions, amenities, demographics, religion, Scheduled Castes and Tribes, language, literacy, economic activity, migration, and fertility. This comprehensive data is vital for informed policy-making, resource allocation, and the delimitation of electoral boundaries.

Home Secretary Govind Mohan, an IAS officer of the Sikkim cadre whose tenure was recently extended until August 22, 2026, emphasized the pivotal role of states in the successful execution of Census 2027. He urged Chief Secretaries to ensure timely appointment and training of census functionaries, effective use of digital tools, and a focused public awareness campaign to foster trust and participation. The Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India, Mritunjay Kumar Narayan, also highlighted the overall preparedness for this historic national exercise.