The delimitation exercise will likely be completed by 2028.
The Central government is likely to start the census exercise in 2025 and complete it by 2026, India Today reported citing sources. The exercise to count the country’s population would take place after a delay of four years.
In Short
- Census likely to start in 2025 after four-year delay
- Opposition demands caste census, government undecided
- Delimitation of Lok Sabha seats to be held after post-census by 2028
The census will likely end in a year.
After the census is completed, the BJP-led government will start the delimitation exercise of Lok Sabha seats, the channel reported. HT can’t independently verify the report.
The delimitation exercise will likely be completed by 2028.
The Congress-led opposition has been demanding a caste-based census. However, the broad contours of the census exercise have not been revealed.
Next year’s census may include surveys of sub-sects within the General and SC-ST categories. It will also record the number of people belonging to general, scheduled caste and scheduled tribes categories.
Reacting to the report, Congress leader Manickam Tagore said the government’s refusal to carry out a caste-based census is a betrayal of the OBC communities.
“Modi’s refusal to conduct a #CasteCensus is a clear betrayal of OBC communities. Ignoring the voices demanding justice, he’s denying our people their due representation—all because of political arrogance. Will RSS, JDU,&TDP stand with the people or stay silent?” he wrote on X.
Rahul Gandhi demands caste census
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Last month, while interacting with students and faculty at Georgetown University in Washington, DC, Rahul Gandhi said that the Congress party would think of scrapping reservations when India becomes a “fair place”.
He also reiterated the need to conduct a caste census, saying that 90 per cent of the country’s population — OBCs, Dalits and Adivasis– do not have proper representation in the country.
He further said that the caste census is a simple exercise to assess the participation of lower castes, backward castes, and Dalits.
Following the reports regarding the census, the discussion on the caste census has restarted. Congress leader Manickam Tagore, said that the central government’s refusal to conduct a caste census constitutes a betrayal of OBC communities.
He tweeted, Modi’s refusal to conduct a Caste Census is a clear betrayal of OBC communities. Ignoring the voices demanding justice, he’s denying our people their due representation–all because of political arrogance,” Tagore said, also asking, “Will RSS, JDU, &TDP stand with the people or stay silent?”
The census, typically conducted every ten years to update the National Population Register (NPR), was scheduled for 2021 but had to be postponed due to the Covid pandemic. Now, the census cycle is also expected to change.
Hinting an immediate beginning of the much-delayed census processes, the central deputation of Mritunjay Kumar Narayan, currently serving as Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India, has been extended recently till August 2026.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah, on the probability of conducting the decadal census, had said in August that “it will be carried out at an appropriate time. Once decided, I will announce how it will be done”. Shah had also mentioned that the next national census would be done fully digitally through a mobile phone application.
The last census recorded a population of over 121 crores in India, reflecting a growth rate of 17.7 per cent.
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