Days after the Union Home Ministry decided to defer house-listing operations for Census 2027 in Manipur, the Centre on Saturday issued a notification formally announcing the deferment of the exercise in the violence-affected state.On August 31, the Manipur High Court recorded an undertaking by the Centre that the house-listing operations, which were scheduled to begin on September 1, would be postponed. The state government also told the court that it would keep its notification on the Census in abeyance. Following a high-level meeting chaired by Union Home Minister Amit Shah, the Home Ministry announced the deferment of the exercise.The house-listing operations were scheduled to begin in the state on September 1.On Saturday, the Union Home Ministry issued a notification formally deferring the house-listing operations under Census 2027.“…In exercise of the powers conferred by Section 3 and Section 17A of the Census Act, 1948 (37 of 1948), read with Rules 6A and 6D of the Census Rules, 1990, the Central Government hereby defers the house-listing operations for Census 2027 for the State of Manipur…,” the notification said.The Centre’s decision came amid vehement opposition from Meitei civil society groups in Manipur, which have been demanding that the Centre conduct a National Register of Citizens (NRC) exercise in the state before carrying out the Census.