Population Enumeration Schedule overview: 40 notified questions

ANNOUNCED/OFFICIAL. On 14 August 2026 the Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India (MHA) notified the full set of 40 questions for Phase 2 (Population Enumeration) under the Census Act, 1948 — up from 29 questions in Census 2011, with about 13 new items: spouse's name, nationality, father's particulars, mother's particulars, permanent address, passport, driving licence, mobile number, Aadhaar number, voter ID number, digital literacy, number of bank accounts, and place of COVID-19 vaccination (the arithmetic implies some 2011 items were merged).

Question 10 ('Scheduled Caste (SC)/Scheduled Tribe (ST)/Caste') makes this the first census since 1931 to record the caste of every resident — recorded exactly as declared, in an open column with no dropdown or pre-fixed list. Phase 2 runs in February 2027 (reference date 00:00 hrs, 1 March 2027); for Ladakh and snow-bound areas of J&K, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand it began early — web self-enumeration from 17 August 2026 and door-to-door from 1 September 2026, reference date 1 October 2026.

Households may also self-enumerate on an official web portal. Caveat: the itemized per-number list below is compiled from news reports of the notification; exact gazette wording/order for a few items is marked where uncertain. Confidence: high for counts, dates and topics.