The Centre has preponed the population census in Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Goa due to the Assembly elections. The exercise will be held in these states between December 1, 2026, and January 4, 2027.In the rest of the country, the population census, which is the second phase of Census 2027, will be held as per the originally announced schedule by the Registrar General of India (RGI) in February 2027.According to a notification issued by the RGI, the population census in these poll-bound states will be conducted between December 1, 2026, and January 4, 2027.The option for self-enumeration will be available in the four states between November 16, 2026, and November 30, 2026, just before the commencement of the population census.There will be a revisional round from January 5, 2027, to January 9, 2027, the notification said.Assembly elections in all four states are scheduled to be held between February and March 2027, necessitating the preponement of the second phase of the Census there.The first phase of Census 2027, which includes house-listing, has been completed in the four states.“The conduct of Census of the population shall be undertaken in the States of Goa, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab and areas other than snow-bound areas of the State of Uttarakhand, from 1st December, 2026 to 4th January, 2027 with a revisional round from 5th January, 2027 to 9th January, 2027,” the notification said.“For the conduct of the above Census, there shall be an option for self-enumeration from 16th November, 2026 to 30th November, 2026 just before the start of house-to-house population enumeration,” it added.The reference date for the census in Goa, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab and areas other than snow-bound areas of Uttarakhand shall be 00.00 hours on January 5, 2027, it said.