NEW DELHI, March 28 - The next census of India will be carried out in 2021 with March 1 of that year as the reference date, the Home Ministry announced Thursday.
In a notification, the ministry said the decision has been taken by the central government under the powers conferred by section 3 of the Census Act, 1948 (37 of 1948).
�The central government hereby declares that a census of the population of India shall be taken during the year�2021. The reference date for the census shall, except for the state of Jammu and Kashmir and snow bound non-synchronous areas of states of Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand, be 00.00 hours of the first day of March, 2021,� it said.
For Jammu and Kashmir and snow bound non-synchronous areas of Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand, the reference date shall be the first day of October, 2020, the notification said.
India�s last census was carried out in 2011 when the country�s population stood at 121 crore. � PTI
