# Census 2027 rollout begins mid-August with a twist: parents' birth details join the caste count > The second phase of the census kicks off on August 17, and for the first time it will record caste alongside the birth date and birthplace of respondents' parents. Snow-bound regions get a separate timeline. **Type:** article · **Category:** India · **Published:** 2026-08-04 · **Source:** TrendKia **Canonical:** https://trendkia.com/en/national/janaganana-2027-ki-svaganana-agasta-ke-madhya-se-jati-ke-alava-aba-mata-pita-ke-janma-ki-janakari-bhi-legi-sarakara-13430 · **Language:** English **Tags:** Census 2027, Caste Census, Ministry of Home Affairs, Self-enumeration, NPR, SC ST, Parents Birth Details India's next round of the census is about to begin, and this time the questionnaire carries two significant additions. The second phase starts on August 17, and for the first time since independence, caste will be counted nationwide, while every citizen will also be asked for the birth date and birthplace of their parents. The Ministry of Home Affairs has issued a formal notification confirming the plan, which also lays out a separate timeline for the snow-bound regions of Ladakh, Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand. ## Snow-bound regions get a September window According to the notification, population counting in the remote and snowy stretches of Ladakh, Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand will run from September 1 to September 30. Just before that, a self-enumeration window will be open from August 17 to August 30, allowing people to fill in their own details. This effectively means the detailed set of questions for this second phase of the census will be notified separately in the coming days, giving both enumerators and citizens time to prepare. ## How the caste column will actually be filled Sources indicate that caste details will be recorded purely on the basis of what the respondent declares, with no external check involved. A drop-down menu will be available for people belonging to Scheduled Castes (SC) and Scheduled Tribes (ST), while a general 'caste' option will apply only to those outside the SC and ST categories. The drop-down list itself will show the SC/ST names specific to the state where the person is being counted, and the caste will be recorded exactly the way the respondent spells it out. Importantly, no certificate or document will be required to prove an SC, ST or any other caste claim, the respondent's own word will be taken as final. Meanwhile, the birth details of parents are expected to help authorities work out how many people actually meet the criteria for citizenship. ## Over 45,000 caste names surfaced in 2011, AI may help this time An official noted that the same self-declaration format was used back in the 2011 Socio Economic Caste Census (SECC), and it threw up more than 45,000 different caste names. That sheer volume made the resulting data extremely hard to organise and use meaningfully. This time, however, digital tools and artificial intelligence (AI) are expected to make it easier to sort through such a large, scattered dataset and group it into workable categories. ## Parents' birth details to be recorded for the first time The standout feature of this second phase is that, for the first time, every respondent will be asked for the date and place of birth of their parents, information considered an important factor in determining citizenship. The National Population Register (NPR) exercise was originally carried out alongside the 2011 census and was meant to be repeated with the 2021 census, but that update never happened because the census itself was postponed. This time around, the NPR has been kept entirely separate from the Census 2027 process. Back in 2010, when the NPR exercise was last carried out, respondents' self-declared nationality details were also collected, though the government had clarified even then that this information alone does not automatically confer any right to citizenship. ## What this means for you - **Across India:** Every citizen will now have to declare their caste as well as their parents' birth date and birthplace on the census form, and no certificate or document will be needed to back it up. - **In Ladakh, Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand's snowy areas:** Residents get a self-enumeration window from August 17 to August 30, while the rest of the count there runs from September 1 to September 30. ## Questions & Answers ### 1. When does the second phase of the census start? It begins on August 17. ### 2. What new information will be collected this time? Alongside caste, the census will for the first time also record the birth date and birthplace of respondents' parents. ### 3. Is any document required to declare caste? No, no certificate or document is required, caste will be recorded exactly as declared by the respondent. ### 4. When will the census happen in snow-bound regions? In Ladakh, Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand's snowy areas, counting will run from September 1 to September 30, with self-enumeration available from August 17 to August 30. ### 5. What problem did the 2011 caste census face? It surfaced more than 45,000 different caste names, making the data extremely difficult to use. ### 6. What role does the NPR play in Census 2027? This time, the National Population Register has been kept entirely separate from the Census 2027 process. ### 7. Does giving nationality-related details grant citizenship? No, the government has clarified that this information alone does not automatically confer any right to citizenship. --- _TrendKia — Har trend, sabse pehle.. Machine-readable view; canonical HTML at the URL above._