On 22nd January (Thursday), the central government announced a list of 33 questions scheduled to be asked in the first phase of the 2027 Census, which will begin in April. Each state and union territory will choose a 30-day period between 1st April and 30th September for the first phase of census known as houselisting operations.
Mrityunjay Kumar Narayan, the registrar general of India, listed enquiries in a gazette notice that included questions from housing materials and basic facilities to the number of married couples and the gender of the head of the household.
It read, “The central government hereby instructs that all the Census Officers may, within the limits of the local areas for which they have been respectively appointed, ask all such questions from all persons on the items enumerated below for collecting information through the household listing and housing census schedule in connection with the Census of India 2027.”
Questions to be asked by census officers during houselisting. pic.twitter.com/wtn1BmKNXc
— Ankur Sharma (@AnkurSharma__) January 22, 2026
The inquiry will begin with confirming “building number (municipal or local authority or census number), census house number, predominant material of floor of the census house, predominant material of wall of the census house, predominant material of roof of the census house, ascertain use of census house, condition of the census house and household number.”
It will then ask about “total number of persons normally residing in the household, name of the head of the household, sex of the head of the household, whether the head of the household belongs to scheduled caste/scheduled tribe/other, ownership status of the census house, mumber of dwelling rooms exclusively in possession of the household alongside number of married couple(s) living in the household.”
Afterwards, information regarding “main source of drinking water, availability of drinking water source, main source of lighting, access to latrine, type of latrine, waste water outlet, radio/transistor, availability of bathing facility, availability of kitchen and Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) or Piped Natural Gas (PNG) connection as well as main fuel used for cooking” will be requested.
“Television, access to internet, laptop or computer, telephone/mobile phone/smartphone, bicycle/ scooter/ motorcycle/ moped, car/jeep/van” in addition to “main cereal consumed in the household,” will be collected in the end with mobile number exclusively for correspondence pertaining to the census.
- Building number (Municipal or local authority or census number)
- Census house number
- Predominant material of floor of the census house.
- Predominant material of wall of the census house
- Predominant material of roof of the census house.
- Ascertain use of census house
- Condition of the census house
- Household number
- Total number of persons normally residing in the household
- Name of the head of the household
- Sex of the head of the household.
- Whether the head of the household belongs to Scheduled Caste/Scheduled Tribe/Other
- Ownership status of the census house
- Number of dwelling rooms exclusively in possession of the household.
- Number of married couple(s) living in the household
- Main source of drinking water.
- Availability of drinking water source
- Main source of lighting
- Access to latrine
- Type of latrine
- Waste water outlet
- Availability of bathing facility.
- Availability of kitchen and LPG/PNG connection
- Main fuel used for cooking
- Radio/Transistor
- Television
- Access to internet.
- Laptop/Computer
- Telephone/Mobile Phone/Smartphone
- Bicycle/Scooter/Motorcycle Moped
- Car/Jeep/Van
- Main Cereal consumed in the household
- Mobile Number (for census related communications only)
The massive Rs 11718-crore Census will be carried out in two stages: a population count in February 2027 and a house-listing and housing census from April to September.
