Sudarshan Patnaik appointed as the brand ambassador of Census 2027

The Government of India has appointed internationally acclaimed sand artist Sudarshan Pattnaik as the brand ambassador of Census 2027 to promote public awareness and participation in the upcoming nationwide census process.

This appointment has been issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs as part of preparations for the 16th National Census.

As the brand ambassador of Census 2027, Pattnaik will use his unique sand art to educate and spread awareness among citizens across India about the importance of the census, while also encouraging wider public participation.

The Central Government has approved the proposal to conduct India’s Census 2027. An amount of ₹11,718.24 crore has been sanctioned for this purpose.

About Sudarshan Pattnaik

He was awarded the ‘Padma Shri’ in 2014 for his outstanding contribution in the field of art and social awareness.

He set a ‘Guinness World Record’ by creating the world’s largest sandcastle measuring 48 feet 8 inches at the beach of Puri (Odisha) in 2017.

He uses sand art to spread awareness on issues such as climate change, COVID-19 and children’s rights. He has represented India in various international art festivals and exhibitions.

About Census 2027

The census is conducted under the ‘Census Act, 1948’.

It is conducted by the ‘Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India’. Census 2027 will be the first digital census in the country.

Census 2027 will be the 16th census of India and the 8th after independence. The official mascots of Census 2027 are “Pragati” (female) and “Vikas” (male).

Shri Mrityunjay Kumar Narayan, I.A.S., is the Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India for the upcoming Census 2027.

Key highlights of Census 2027

It will be completed in two phases: the first phase (2026) for house listing and housing census, and the second phase (2027) for population enumeration.

The house listing work will be conducted from 1 April to 30 September, 2026. Each state and union territory will have to complete this work within 30 days.

The reference date for population enumeration will be 1 March, 2027 (for most parts of the country). For snow-bound and remote areas—such as Ladakh, Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand—the reference date will be 1 October, 2026.

Legal and constitutional basis of Census 2027

This census is being conducted by the office of the Registrar General of India (RGI) under Sections 3 and 17A of the Census Act, 1948. It will replace the notification issued in 2020 after the postponement of the 2021 census.

The bill of this Act was introduced by India’s then Home Minister Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel. Census is a subject under the ‘Union List’ under Article 246 of the Indian Constitution. It is listed at serial number 69 in the Seventh Schedule of the Constitution.

History of census in India

The first complete census of an Indian city was conducted in 1830 in Dacca (now Dhaka) by Henry Walter. Earlier, censuses were conducted by James Prinsep in Allahabad (1824) and Banaras (1827-28).

The second census was conducted in 1836-37 by Fort St. George. In 1849, the Government of India directed local governments to prepare quinquennial (every five years) population reports. The first non-synchronous census in India was conducted in 1872 during the tenure of Governor-General Lord Mayo.

The first synchronous census was conducted on 17 February, 1881 under British rule by W.C. Plowden (Census Commissioner of India). Since then, census has been conducted every ten years without interruption.

Socio-Economic and Caste Census (SECC) was conducted in 2011 for the first time after 1931.