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Delimitation concerns will be discussed at an appropriate time: MHA
In a series of posts on 'X', the MHA said budget allocation has never been a constraint for conducting the census, as funds are always ensured by the government. The entire 2021 Census exercise was estimated to cost the government over ₹13,000 crore. The Budget for 2025–26 allocated ₹574.80 crore for census surveys and statistics / the Registrar General of India (RGI).
The MHA did not explicitly state whether the census data could be available in time for a delimitation commission to decide on the number of seats in the Lok Sabha before the 2029 polls. However, the ministry alluded to Home Minister Amit Shah's earlier statements on the delimitation exercise. It stated that Shah has 'clarified on many occasions that in the delimitation exercise the concerns of southern states will be taken care of and discussed with all concerned at an appropriate time'.
The delimitation of constituencies for the Lok Sabha and state legislative assemblies is to be carried out on the basis of the first Census after 2026. It will also be the basis for reserving a third of seats for women in the Lok Sabha and state legislative assemblies. Tamil Nadu, and other southern states such as Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala and Telangana, fear that the delimitation exercise, if conducted solely on the basis of population, would diminish their political representation in Parliament. Some of the southern states have demanded a freeze on the number of Lok Sabha seats, based on the 1971 Census, for another 25 years.
The provisional data for the 2011 Census was released on 31 March 2011, 25 days after its population enumeration phase ended, while the final data was released two years later on 30 April 2013.
The MHA also defended the delay in holding the Census exercise. It said Census 2021 was to be conducted and all preparations were completed. However, due to the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic across the country, the Census work was postponed. The aftershock of Covid-19 continued for quite some time, it said.
The ministry said Covid-19 disrupted all sectors including education. It said around 3 million enumerators are needed for the Census. Enumerators, who are primary school teachers, are key persons for conducting the Census. Conducting the Census after Covid could have disrupted primary education immensely, the MHA said.
The MHA also pointed out that countries which conducted the Census immediately after Covid-19 faced issues regarding the quality and coverage of Census data. It said the government has decided to commence the process of Census forthwith, which will complete on 1 March 2027 — the reference date for the Census.
The Centre on Wednesday said Census-2027, with caste enumeration, will be undertaken in two phases across the country. It will be completed by 1 October 2026 in snow-bound and hilly areas like Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand, and by 1 March 2027 in the rest of the country. The reference date for the headcount will be 12 am on 1 March 2027 for the rest of the country.
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