The second phase of Census 2027, which involves population enumeration, will for the first time record caste “as declared by the respondent” among its 40 questions. The questionnaire also introduces several new fields, including the number of bank accounts, place of Covid-19 vaccination and voter ID number.
The caste enumeration will not seek to determine whether an individual belongs to the Other Backward Classes (OBC) category. However, Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs) will continue to be enumerated as in previous censuses, with all notified SC/ST communities available through drop-down menus.