Population Foundation of India calls for inclusive and secure approach to India’s first digital Census. As India begins Census 2027, concerns around inclusion, gender equity, and data privacy underline the importance of accurate, disaggregated data.

India’s Census 2027, beginning April 1, marks a crucial moment in understanding the country’s developmental trajectory, particularly in relation to sustainability and women’s rights. As India’s first fully digital census, it goes beyond counting populations to mapping living conditions—capturing data on housing quality, access to water and sanitation, clean cooking fuel, and digital connectivity. These indicators are central to tracking progress on the UN Sustainable Development Goals, revealing whether growth has been equitable or deeply uneven.

For women, the census is foundational. It provides gender-disaggregated data on literacy, workforce participation, migration, and household leadership—metrics that shape policies across sectors. Critically, the updated population data will inform delimitation, a necessary step for implementing women’s reservation in legislatures, directly impacting political representation.

Equally significant is the likely inclusion of caste enumeration, enabling a more nuanced understanding of intersectional inequalities. Women in marginalized communities—Dalit, Adivasi, and OBC—can no longer be treated as a monolith in policy frameworks.

In essence, Census 2027 is not merely statistical; it is a mirror to India’s social realities. It will determine how resources are allocated, whose lives are prioritized, and whether development truly includes the women who remain at its margins.

A Long-Overdue Exercise in a Changed India

The Population Foundation of India has welcomed the rollout of the first phase of Census 2027, calling it a necessary resumption of a critical governance exercise after a prolonged gap.

“India is trying to govern a 2026–27 reality using 2011 data. That’s a 15-year blind spot in a fast-changing country,” said Poonam Muttreja. “The restart of the Census is long overdue, and will help deal with the consequences of the delay for planning, welfare delivery, and inclusion.”

Over the past decade, India has undergone profound demographic shifts—rapid urbanisation, large-scale migration, declining fertility rates in several states, and the emergence of ageing populations. Yet, much of this transformation remains invisible in current policy frameworks, which continue to rely on outdated data.

Census 2027 introduces a hybrid model: mobile-based data collection, real-time monitoring, and for the first time, an option for citizens to self-enumerate online, alongside traditional door-to-door verification.

“Digitisation is a welcome step, but a digital-first approach cannot assume universal access,” Muttreja cautioned. “Self-enumeration depends on mobile access, connectivity, and digital literacy. If not designed carefully, it risks excluding those already on the margins—migrants, the urban poor, women without phone access, and the elderly.”

In a country where digital access remains uneven, the risk is clear: those already invisible in data systems may remain so—or become further obscured.

Gender, Data, and the Risk of Invisibility

A gender lens, the Foundation argues, is not optional—it is essential. Women’s work, particularly unpaid and informal labour, continues to be undercounted in official statistics. “In many households, who fills the form matters,” said Muttreja. “Without safeguards, women’s work and contributions may continue to remain invisible, especially in a self-enumeration model.”

This concern is deeply structural. If data collection relies on a single household respondent—often male—women’s economic and social contributions risk being underreported, reinforcing long-standing gender biases in policy design.

Further, migration patterns of women, especially those moving for marriage or informal work, are frequently misrepresented or overlooked, affecting everything from urban planning to welfare access. 

With digitisation comes another critical concern: data security. Census 2027 will involve the collection of sensitive personal information, including caste data, making privacy safeguards essential.

“Concerns around data security, cybersecurity threats, and the protection of sensitive data such as caste must be addressed proactively,” Muttreja said. “Building public trust will be key to ensuring full and accurate participation.”

In the absence of trust, participation may falter—compromising the very integrity of the exercise.

Why Granular Data Matters for Policy

At its core, the census is not just about counting people—it is about shaping policy. Accurate and disaggregated data informs decisions across sectors: health, education, nutrition, housing, and social protection. “Without granular data, policies tend to assume ‘one India’ when the reality is many India’s,” Muttreja added. “In health and family planning, this means unmet need and access gaps remain hidden, directly affecting women’s well-being.”  

The Road Ahead

As India embarks on this ambitious exercise, the stakes are clear. Census 2027 will shape governance, representation, and resource allocation for the next decade.

But more importantly, it will decide who is counted—and who continues to remain unseen. In a nation of many realities, ensuring that every life is visible in data is not just an administrative responsibility. It is a democratic imperative.

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