India’s 2027 Census: All the Key Details and Timeline You Need to Know

News Network

June 16, 2025

New Delhi, June 16: The Narendra Modi-led government has officially notified plans to conduct India's 16th national census in 2027 — the first in 16 years since the last full enumeration was carried out in 2011. This upcoming census will, for the first time, include caste-based data collection across the country.

According to the notification issued on Monday, the census will be conducted with two different reference dates:

• October 1, 2026 for snow-bound and non-synchronous areas such as Ladakh, parts of Jammu and Kashmir, and the states of Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand.

• March 1, 2027 for the rest of the country.

The government plans to deploy around 34 lakh enumerators and supervisors, supported by 1.3 lakh census functionaries, all equipped with digital devices to streamline the massive data collection exercise.

A significant update for the 2027 exercise is the inclusion of caste enumeration, a move that has long been debated in policy circles and public discourse. Additionally, the census will provide an option for self-enumeration, allowing citizens to submit their data digitally.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah reviewed the preparations for the exercise on Sunday in a high-level meeting attended by Union Home Secretary, Registrar General and Census Commissioner Mritunjay Kumar Narayan, and other senior officials.

Two-Phase Operation

The census will be conducted in two distinct phases:

1. House Listing Operation (HLO): This phase will record housing conditions, household assets, and amenities.

2. Population Enumeration (PE): This phase will capture detailed information on demographic, socio-economic, and cultural aspects of each individual in every household.

This will be India’s 16th decennial census since the first one in 1872, and the eighth since Independence in 1947.

The government has also assured that robust data security protocols will be implemented to safeguard information during collection, transmission, and storage, addressing concerns around privacy and digital vulnerabilities.

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Who is Ramachandra Rao? Karnataka DGP, actress Ranya’s stepfather suspended over viral ‘obscene’ video

News Network

January 20,2026

Karnataka DGP (Civil Rights Enforcement) K Ramachandra Rao was suspended with immediate effect, as per a state government order issued on Monday, 19 January. The order cited conduct unbecoming of a government servant and causing embarrassment to the state administration.

The Karnataka government suspended Rao after a purported video showed him in a compromising position with a woman inside his official chamber. The video went viral on social media. Rao rejected the videos outright, terming them "fabricated and false".

Who is K Ramachandra Rao?

Rao is a DGP-rank officer who was heading the Directorate of Civil Rights Enforcement until his suspension. He was promoted to DGP in September 2023 and assumed office in October 2023, the Sunday Guardian reported.

He also served as the Chairman and Managing Director of the Karnataka State Police Housing and Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited.

His stint as the Inspector General of Police (IGP) for the Southern Range was also marred by controversy. In 2014, during a cash seizure near Mysuru’s Yelwal, officials claimed the seized amount was ₹20 lakh, while the accused (Kerala-based merchants) claimed it was around ₹2.27 crore.

Rao, who was present during the seizure, denied all allegations. However, he was transferred soon after.

Allegations of collusion with a businessman surfaced, and a senior police officer was quoted by The Sunday Guardian as saying, “In Rao’s case, the CID has clearly mentioned that there was a great degree of lapse on the part of Rao and a deputy superintendent of police after it was brought to their notice that a few policemen, including a gunman attached to the IGP, were involved in the robbery.”

Rao had denied all wrongdoing in that incident. Despite past controversies, he rose to the state’s top police position, the Sunday Guardian reported.

Ranya Rao’s stepfather

Rao is the stepfather of Kannada actress Harshavardhini Ranya alias Ranya Rao, accused of orchestrating the illegal import of gold worth over ₹12.56 crore from Dubai to India along with two others — businessman Tarun Raju, and jewellery dealer Sahil Jain.

‘Obscene video’ controversy

A viral video showed Rao behaving inappropriately with a woman inside his office while in uniform.

The Karnataka government said in its Monday order that “vide videos and news reports widely broadcast on public news channels and media platforms, it is observed that Dr K Ramachandra Rao has acted in an obscene manner which is unbecoming of a Government Servant and also causing embarrassment to the Government.”

The order said the matter was examined by the state government, which found that the officer's conduct amounted to a violation of Rule 3 of the All India Services (Conduct) Rules, 1968.

The government said it is prima facie satisfied that "it is necessary to place Rao under suspension with immediate effect, pending inquiry".

During the suspension period, Rao will be entitled to subsistence allowance as per Rule 4 of the All India Services (Discipline and Appeal) Rules, 1969.

The order also places restrictions on his movement, stating that during the period of suspension, the officer must not leave headquarters under any circumstances without the written permission of the state government.

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