Why delay Census for 23 months: Congress after govt announces schedule

Soon after the Centre announced the schedule for the next decadal Census, the Congress on Wednesday said there was no reason to delay the exercise for another 23 months, and alleged that the Modi government does not meet deadlines.

The 2027 Census along with caste enumeration will be carried out with the reference date of 1 October 2026 in snow-bound areas like Ladakh and 1 March 2027 in the rest of the country, the Union home ministry announced on Wednesday.

In a post on X, Congress general-secretary (communications) Jairam Ramesh said, "There is really no reason to delay the Census that was due in 2021 for another twenty three months. The Modi Government is capable only of generating headlines, not meeting deadlines."

In a statement, the home ministry said it has been decided that the Population Census 2027 will be conducted in two phases along with the enumeration of castes.

"The reference date for Population Census - 2027 will be 00:00 hours of the first day of March 2027. For the Union Territory of Ladakh and the non-synchronous snow-bound areas of the UT of Jammu and Kashmir and states of Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand, the reference date will be 00.00 hours of the first day of October 2026," the ministry statement said.