De Facto vs De Jure: The Method India Uses

Two classical census counting methods: a DE FACTO census counts each person wherever they are physically present at the census reference moment; a DE JURE census counts each person at their place of usual residence regardless of where they happen to be on census night (Britannica; IUSSP PAPP teaching module). De facto requires enumeration compressed around a single night; de jure allows enumeration to be spread over days or weeks but carries higher risk of omission or double counting and requires a clear 'usual residence' rule.

India's practice: the Indian census was a one-night de facto count up to 1931; as a single-day national count became impractical, India moved to what demographers call an EXTENDED (or modified) DE FACTO method, which it has used in recent censuses and continues for Census 2027. Under it: (1) enumeration is spread over an extended period (about three weeks — February 2027 for Population Enumeration); (2) each person is enumerated at the place where they normally reside and are found during the enumeration period; persons temporarily absent but normally residing there are included; visitors who were away from their own homes for the whole period are enumerated where found so no one is missed; (3) after the main round, a REVISIONAL ROUND follows the reference date, in which enumerators revisit households to update the record to the census moment — adding births, deleting deaths, and adding arrivals not enumerated elsewhere, so that the final count reflects the population as of the reference moment (IUSSP module description of Indian practice; Vskills summary of Indian official statistics).

Census 2027 implementation: the reference moment is 00:00 hours on 1 March 2027 for most of India. The snow-bound early enumeration demonstrates the full sequence concretely: in snow-bound J&K areas, self-enumeration ran August 17-31, 2026; door-to-door enumeration September 1-30, 2026; the Census Moment was 00:00 hours October 1, 2026; and the revisional round ran October 1-5, 2026 (Rising Kashmir, reporting the J&K Chief Secretary's launch).

The equivalent revisional-round dates for the main February 2027 round (expected early March 2027) had not been formally notified as of 1 September 2026 (confidence: unconfirmed; pattern inferred from the notified snow-bound schedule and past census practice — the 2011 revisional round ran March 1-5, 2011). Practical consequence for explainers: a baby born at 11:59 pm on February 28, 2027 is counted; one born at 12:01 am on March 1, 2027 is not; a person who dies before the census moment is removed during the revisional round even if enumerated earlier in February.