New Delhi, June 16 -- Ministry of Home Affairs issues notification

The Ministry of Home Affairs has issued a notification announcing its intent to conduct the next Population Census in 2027, the first since 2011.

The exercise will be carried out in two phases, with reference dates set for different regions of the country. With the fresh announcement, India's next full-scale Population Census will now take place after a 16-year gap.

According to the notification released this morning, the reference date for the Population Census will be March 1, 2027, for all States and Union Territories, except for Ladakh and snow-bound areas of Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand, where the reference date will be October 1, 2026.

"The r...