The schedule for the 16th census in Uttar Pradesh has been officially announced. The census will take place in two phases, with the first phase running from May 22 to June 20, 2026, followed by the second phase in February 2027. During the initial phase, the focus will be on listing households and counting homes, while the second phase will involve the population count. Census agents will visit each household to gather information about the status of the home, available facilities for families, and property details using a mobile application.

IAS officer Sheetal Verma shared these details during a press conference today. She mentioned that approximately 525,000 officials and staff will be deployed for the census in Uttar Pradesh. This includes all 18 divisional commissioners, 75 district magistrates, 17 municipal commissioners, 600 district-level officials, 1,195 charge officers, 285 master trainers, 6,939 field trainers, along with 500,000 supervisors and enumerators.

Important Aspects of the Census:

• The census will include a caste census, which will be conducted in the second phase.


• This will be the first caste census since independence.


• The caste census process is still pending the establishment of standard operating procedures (SOP).


• According to the census director and chief census officer Sheetal Verma, the second phase will take place in February.


• The caste census in the second phase will follow the central government's policy.


• The first phase will focus on household-level data collection.


• The second phase will involve individual data collection.


• The SOP for the caste census has not yet been finalized.


• The caste census in the second phase will mark the first occurrence since independence.