What Census 2027 asks

What's new: internet access, smartphones, LPG or piped gas connections, the main cereal eaten and a mobile number. The 2011 question on banking services is gone; Phase 2 now asks each person how many bank accounts they have.

1. 1Building number (municipal, local authority or census number)
2. 2Census house number
3. 3Main material of the floor
4. 4Main material of the walls
5. 5Main material of the roof
6. 6What the house is used for
7. 7Condition of the house
8. 8Household number
9. 9Number of people who normally live in the household
10. 10Name of the head of the household
11. 11Sex of the head of the household
12. 12Whether the head belongs to a Scheduled Caste, a Scheduled Tribe or neither
13. 13Whether the house is owned or rented
14. 14Number of rooms the household has to itself
15. 15Number of married couples in the household
16. 16Main source of drinking water
17. 17Where the drinking water source is
18. 18Main source of light
19. 19Access to a toilet
20. 20Type of toilet
21. 21Where waste water goes
22. 22Bathing facility
23. 23Kitchen, and LPG or piped gas connectionLPG/PNG added
24. 24Main fuel used for cooking
25. 25Radio or transistor
26. 26Television
27. 27Access to the internetNew
28. 28Laptop or computer
29. 29Telephone, mobile phone or smartphoneSmartphone added
30. 30Bicycle, scooter, motorcycle or moped
31. 31Car, jeep or van
32. 32Main cereal eaten in the householdNew
33. 33Mobile number, only for census messagesNew

Notified on 22 January 2026 (S.O. 353(E)).

What's new: caste is recorded for everyone, not just Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, for the first time since 1931. Also new: spouse's name, nationality, parents' details, permanent address, digital literacy, place of COVID-19 vaccination, number of bank accounts, ID numbers where the person has them, and whether they have a driving licence.

1. 1Name
2. 2Relationship to the head of the household
3. 3Sex
4. 4Date of birth and age
5. 5Marital status
6. 6Age at marriage
7. 7Spouse's nameNew
8. 8Nationality, as declaredNew
9. 9Religion
10. 10Scheduled Caste, Scheduled Tribe or casteCaste added
11. 11Father's detailsNew
12. 12Mother's detailsNew
13. 13Disability
14. 14Mother tongue and other languages known
15. 15Literacy and digital literacyDigital literacy added
16. 16Whether attending school or college
17. 17Highest education, and its stream or subject
18. 18Whether the person worked at any time last year
19. 19Category of economic activity
20. 20Occupation
21. 21Industry, trade or service
22. 22Class of worker
23. 23Non-economic activity (for people with little or no work)
24. 24Looking for or available for work (for people with little or no work)
25. 25Travel to the place of work
26. 26Place of birth
27. 27Place of last residence
28. 28Reason for moving
29. 29Years lived in this village or town since moving
30. 30Permanent home addressNew
31. 31Number of children alive now (for women who are or have been married)
32. 32Number of children ever born alive (for women who are or have been married)
33. 33Children born alive in the last year (for married women)
34. 34Place of COVID-19 vaccinationNew
35. 35Number of bank accountsNew
36. 36Mobile number, if anyNew
37. 37Aadhaar number, if anyNew
38. 38Voter ID number, if anyNew
39. 39Passport number, for Indian passport holdersNew
40. 40Whether the person has a driving licenceNew

Notified on 14 August 2026 (S.O. 4505(E)).