India's Home Ministry releases 40-item household questionnaire for 2027 Census

The Ministry of Home Affairs, through the Office of the Registrar General, has formally announced a 40-question Household Schedule for the Census of India 2027. The form will record basic personal information, including name, relationship to the household head, sex, birth date and marital status, as well as details on religion, Scheduled Caste/Tribe affiliation, mother tongue and other languages spoken. Educational data will cover literacy, digital literacy, school attendance and highest qualification, while employment queries will address work status, occupation and industry in the previous year.

Migration questions will seek birthplace, last residence and reasons for moving. For women of child-bearing age, the schedule will note surviving children and births in the prior year. Additional items will capture the location of Covid-19 vaccination, number of bank accounts and possession of identifiers like Aadhaar, voter ID, passport and driving licence. This notification sets the framework for gathering household-level data across designated regions ahead of the census exercise.