New Delhi: The Centre on Friday announced that the nationwide population Census will be conducted from January 25 to February 28, 2027, with certain states and Union Territories excluded from the exercise during this period, news agency PTI reported.

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According to the announcement, snow-bound areas and states scheduled to undergo elections will be exempted from the exercise during the notified period.

A Gazette notification issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs specified the areas excluded from the census schedule, including Manipur, Goa, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Uttarakhand and Ladakh, along with certain snow-bound regions of Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir.

What does the government notification say?

The notification, issued under the Census Act, 1948, and the Census Rules, 1990, outlines the legal provisions governing the exercise and the geographical areas covered by the schedule.

"In exercise of the powers conferred by section 3 of the Census Act, 1948 (37 of 1948) read with rules 6A and 6D of the Census Rules, 1990, the Central Government hereby declares that in all States and Union territories of India except the State of Manipur (till further declaration), the States of Goa, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Uttarakhand, the Union territory of Ladakh and the snow-bound non-synchronous areas of the State of Himachal Pradesh and the Union territory of Jammu and Kashmir..."

The notification indicates that the census schedule will not apply to the specified states and territories during the announced period. Separate arrangements or timelines for these areas have not been detailed in the information released so far.

Why was the 2021 Census postponed?

India's last population Census was conducted in 2011, making the upcoming exercise particularly significant after a prolonged delay.

The Census is carried out under the Census Act, 1948, and the Census Rules, 1990, which provide the legal framework for collecting and compiling population data.

The 2011 Census was conducted in two phases, a model that was also planned for the 2021 exercise.

Under the original schedule, the first phase of Census 2021 was to take place between April and September 2020, followed by the second phase in February 2021.

Preparations for the first phase had been completed, and fieldwork was scheduled to begin in several states and Union Territories on April 1, 2020.

However, the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic forced the government to postpone the exercise.

The delay meant that India continued to rely on population figures from the 2011 Census for several administrative and planning purposes.