This is the first time caste will be enumerated in Independent India, other than that of Scheduled Tribes and Scheduled Caste.
The Union Government on Friday (August 14, 2026) notified 40 questions, which among others asks will ask the respondents to record their “caste” during the Population Enumeration exercise, the second phase of Population Census 2027 .
These include basic demographic details such as name, age, sex, marital status, spouse’s name, nationality, religion, caste or tribe and parental information. Question number 10 on the Census schedule reads “Scheduled Caste (SC)/ Scheduled Tribe (ST)/Caste. The notification, issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs under the Census Act, 1948, authorises census officers to collect information through the household schedule from every person residing in their assigned areas. Officials will gather 40 categories of information from residents, according to the notification.
Officials said that the enumerator will record the caste as declared by the respondent as it is an open column.
