India’s upcoming population census will be the most expensive ever on a per-capita basis. The Census of India 2027, scheduled for 2026–27, will cost an estimated Rs 82 per person, a sharp increase from Rs 18 per head in the 2011 census and higher than the Rs 64 budgeted for the postponed 2021 exercise.
The Union Cabinet has approved a total outlay of Rs 11,718.24 crore for the census. The exercise will be carried out in two phases: the house listing and housing census in 2026, followed by population enumeration in early 2027. Separate reference dates will apply for snow-bound and remote regions.
The higher cost reflects inflation as well as the expanded scope of the census. For the first time, the exercise will be fully digital, using mobile-based data collection and real-time monitoring systems. It will also include caste enumeration, the first such effort in nearly a century.
