New Delhi: In a notification issued on Thursday (October 16), the Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India has said that the pre-test for the first phase of Population Census 2027 will be conducted from November 10-30 in selected sample areas of all States and Union Territories.It added that the option to self-enumerate will be available between November 1, 2025 and November 7, 2025.The fact that unlike previous years, this time the pre-test for only the first phase, houselisting and housing census was notified, indicates that that the methodology on caste enumeration has not been finalised yet, reported The Hindu.“In exercise of the powers conferred by Section 17A of the Census Act, 1948 (37 of 1948) read with Rule 6D of the Census Rules, 1990, the Central government hereby extends the provisions of the said Act for conduct of pre-test of the first phase of Census of India, 2027. The pre-test of the first phase of the Census of India 2027, that is, Houselisting and Housing Census, in the selected sample areas shall be conducted from November 10 to November 30, 2025 in all States and Union Territories. There shall also be an option for self-enumeration from November 1, 2025 to November 7, 2025,” said the notification by the Registrar General and Census Commissioner Mrityunjay Kumar Narayan.Back in 2019, the questions that were to be asked in both the phases – the Housing Census and Population Enumeration, and the National Population Register – were tested in succession from August 12, 2019 to September 30, 2029.The pre-test tests the efficacy of the entire census exercise that will be held in two phases. The Housing Census and Population Enumeration is scheduled from April 1, 2026 to February 28, 2027.The Census is going to be the first to enumerate caste in independent India and will also be a digital Census.The pre-test will evaluate several aspects of the Census including the proposed questions, data collection methodologies, training effectiveness, logistics, printing processes, data quality assessment, and identify potential field issues, among others.This is the first Census since 2011 as the exercise that was scheduled in 2021 was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It will now be completed in 2027.