New Delhi, June 5 -- The Union government said on Wednesday that the long-delayed census will be carried out in two phases before March 1 2027, announcing a crucial exercise that will enumerate caste for the first time since independence and likely become the base for landmark processes such as delimitation and women's reservation.

A statement from the Union home ministry said the reference date - a cut off date when population of a country is usually declared as of a specific day or date -for the 2027 census will be March 1. For the Union Territory of Ladakh and the snow-bound areas of Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand, the reference date will be October 1, 2026.

"It has been decided to conduct Population Census-2027 ...