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The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on Friday notified the 40 questions that census officials will ask households during the Census of India 2027.

The notification, issued by the Office of the Registrar General, India, under the Census Act, 1948, said census officials will collect the specified information through the Household Schedule in their respective areas.

The questionnaire will cover a broad range of demographic, social, educational and economic details, including information about household members, migration, employment, education and access to various documents and services.

It also includes questions on literacy, digital literacy, educational attendance, highest educational level attained, work status, occupation, industry, class of worker and migration history.

Among the more significant inclusions are questions on Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and caste, as well as details of father and mother, disability, place of birth, place of last residence, reason for migration and duration of stay after migration.

What notification Read?

In a gazette notification issued on Friday, Registrar General and Census Commissioner Mritunjay Kumar Narayan said, “In exercise of the powers conferred by sub-section (1) of section 8 of the Census Act, 1948 (37 of 1948), the Central government hereby instructs and directs that the census officers may, within the limits of the local area for which they have been respectively appointed, ask all such questions of all persons residing within such limits, pertaining to the items enumerated below, for collecting information through the Household Schedule in connection with the Census of India 2027,” it added.

The Household Schedule will also collect information about women, including the number of children at present, the number of children born alive, and the number of children born alive during the last one year, wherever applicable.

“The questionnaire further seeks details on access to and possession of official documents and services, including bank accounts, mobile number, Aadhaar number, Voter ID number, passport number and driving licence. It also includes a question on the place of Covid-19 vaccination,” it said.

What Will Census Officials Ask?

The 40 questions include:

Name of the person
Relationship with the head of the household
Sex
Date of birth and age
Current marital status
Age at marriage
Spouse's name
Nationality as declared
Religion
Scheduled Caste (SC)/Scheduled Tribe (ST)/caste
Father's particulars
Mother's particulars
Disability
Mother tongue and other languages known
Literacy and digital literacy status
Attendance at an educational institution
Highest educational qualification and stream/discipline
Whether the person worked at any time during the last year
Category of economic activity
Occupation
Nature of industry, trade or service
Class of worker
Non-economic activity
Whether seeking or available for work
Travel to place of work
Place of birth
Place of last residence
Reason for migration
Duration of stay in the current village/town since last migration
Permanent residential address
Number of surviving children
Number of children ever born alive
Number of children born alive during the last year
Place of COVID-19 vaccination
Total number of bank accounts
Mobile number, if available
Aadhaar number, if available
Voter ID number, if available
Passport number, for Indian passport holders
Availability of a driving licence

Questions 31 to 33 will apply only to eligible women, with the specific categories varying according to marital status.

The Census 2027 questionnaire will therefore collect information spanning household demographics, caste and religion, education, employment, migration, family details, banking and identification documents.