SRINAGAR: The second phase of the Census, involving population enumeration, will be conducted from September 1 to 30 in Ladakh and snow-bound non-synchronous areas of Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand, the Centre has notified.
Registrar General of India and Census Commissioner Mrityunjay Kumar Narayan issued the notification on Monday, fixing October 1, 2026, as the reference date for the Census in these areas.
A revisional round of the population enumeration will be conducted from October 1 to 5, according to the notification.
Residents in the notified areas will have the option of self-enumeration from August 17 to 31, immediately before the start of the house-to-house population count.
For the rest of the country, the second phase of the Census is expected to be conducted next year.
The Census is being carried out in two phases, with the first covering the Houselisting and Housing Census and the second involving population enumeration. The exercise, which was originally scheduled for 2021, was postponed because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
For the first time, caste details will be collected during the population enumeration phase. The decision was taken by the Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on April 30, 2025.
The first phase of the exercise, involving houselisting and housing census, is currently underway and will continue until September 30. Enumerators are visiting houses and buildings to collect information that will form the basis for the subsequent population count.
During the houselisting exercise, enumerators collect details through 33 questions covering basic household facilities, the name and sex of the head of the household, ownership status and other housing-related information.
The Union Cabinet has approved Rs 11,718 crore for the Census exercise, which is being conducted as the country’s decennial population count.
The upcoming exercise will be the eighth Census since Independence.
