What the Census 2027 Housing Survey Will Ask Indian Households

The Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has formally rolled out the questionnaire for the first stage of the Census of India 2027, marking a major step toward the country’s next nationwide population count. The announcement lays the groundwork for Phase I, known as the Houselisting and Housing Census.

Issued by the Office of the Registrar General of India, the notification authorises census staff to gather a wide range of information related to houses and households across India. The new order replaces an earlier notification issued in January 2020, though all actions taken under the previous rules will remain valid.

Under the revised framework, census officials will conduct surveys within their assigned areas using a standard houselisting format. They will ask residents a set of questions designed to capture details about living conditions, household composition, and access to essential services.

According to the notification, the questionnaire contains 33 questions. These include information on building and house numbers, the materials used in construction, the condition and purpose of the house, the number of rooms, ownership status, and household size. Basic demographic details of the head of the household, such as gender and social category, will also be recorded.

The survey will also focus on access to everyday facilities. This includes drinking water, electricity, toilets, bathing areas, kitchens, and cooking gas connections. Details about cooking fuel, drainage outlets, and household assets like mobile phones, internet access, computers, televisions, and vehicles will be collected as well. The MHA clarified that mobile numbers will be taken strictly for census-related communication.

The Ministry has said that the questionnaire for the second stage of the census, population enumeration, will be released separately at a later date.
The notification, signed by Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India Mritunjay Kumar Narayan, provides the administrative framework for carrying out the first phase of the census exercise.

Earlier this month, the MHA announced that houselisting operations for Census 2027 will be carried out between April 1 and September 30 this year across all states and Union Territories. Each state and UT will choose a 30-day window within this period to conduct the exercise.

Residents will also have the option to fill in their details themselves through self-enumeration. This facility will be available for 15 days immediately before the start of door-to-door data collection.

During the recent winter session of Parliament, the government informed the Lok Sabha that Census 2027 will be conducted in two stages. The first phase, focusing on housing data, will take place between April and September 2026. The second phase, population enumeration, is scheduled for February 2027.

Also Read: India’s Census 2027 First Phase to Begin April 1, Houselisting Across All States and UTs