Administrative Unit Hierarchy UPSC relevant

Census data are collected and published through a fixed territorial hierarchy: India → State/UT → District → Sub-district (tehsil/taluk/CD block) → Village (rural) or Town/Ward (urban) → houselisting/enumeration block.

For Census 2027 this frame was frozen as of January 1, 2026 and comprises 36 States/UTs, 784 districts, 7,092 sub-districts, 5,128 statutory towns, 4,580 census towns and 6,39,902 villages — versus 35/640/5,990/4,041/3,892/6,40,932 in 2011. The administrative command chain mirrors it: Union Home Minister and Home Secretary; RGI at national level; Directorates of Census Operations in states; State Nodal Officers; Principal Census Officers (DM/DC); Charge Officers (SDM/Tehsildar/BDO); then supervisors and enumerators.

Any boundary change after the freeze date is ignored for census purposes, guaranteeing a stable frame.