NEW DELHI: The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has notified 40 questions that census officials will ask households as part of the Census of India 2027.The notification, issued by the Office of the Registrar General, India, under the Census Act, 1948, lays down the information to be collected through the Household Schedule in designated areas.The questionnaire covers a broad range of demographic, social, educational and economic details. It will seek information such as a person’s name, relationship with the head of the household, sex, date of birth, age, marital status, age at marriage, spouse’s name and nationality.Details on religion, Scheduled Caste/Scheduled Tribe or caste, parents, disability, mother tongue and other languages known will also be recorded. The schedule will further capture literacy and digital literacy status, attendance at educational institutions, highest educational qualification and stream or discipline.The census will also collect information on employment and economic activity, including whether a person worked during the previous year, their occupation, industry, trade or service, class of worker, non-economic activity and whether they are seeking or available for work.Questions on migration will cover a person’s birthplace, place of last residence, reason for migration, duration of stay in the current village or town and permanent residential address.For eligible women, the schedule will include questions on the number of children currently surviving, the total number of children born alive and the number of children born alive during the preceding year.The questionnaire will also seek details on the place of Covid-19 vaccination, number of bank accounts and availability of documents and identifiers, including mobile number, Aadhaar, voter ID, Indian passport and driving licence.The notification is part of preparations for the Census of India 2027 and provides the framework for collecting household-level information during the census exercise.
