Budget 2026 earmarks Rs 6,000 crore for NPR, Census 2027; Centre says no rollout yet

As per government officials, no decision has been taken on a nationwide NRC, and they maintain that the latest budgetary provision is aimed at administrative readiness, not an immediate rollout of the NPR.

• Budget 2026-27 allocates Rs 6,000 crore for Census 2027 and NPR preparations
• No notification issued for NPR; allocation not a signal for imminent rollout
• NPR remains contentious; officials say funds are for administrative readiness

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The Union Budget 2026-27 has allocated Rs 6,000 crore for the National Population Register (NPR) and Census 2027, even as the government has not issued any notification for conducting the NPR, official records show.

The allocation has been made under the budget head “Census, Survey and Statistics/Registrar General of India (RGI)”, which covers expenses related to the Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India, NPR-related work and preparations for Census 2027. Of the total outlay, Rs 218 crore has been earmarked as capital expenditure.

The development has drawn attention as the Houselisting phase of the Census, scheduled between April 1 and September 30, 2026, has already been notified, but makes no mention of the NPR, which is usually conducted alongside houselisting under Census rules.

As per a senior Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) official, cited in an Indian Express report, the allocation should not be read as a signal of an imminent NPR exercise.

The NPR, which involves the enumeration of all usual residents in the country, has remained contentious. In 2019, it became a flashpoint following the passage of the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), with critics arguing that the NPR could pave the way for a nationwide National Register of Citizens (NRC). The move led to widespread protests, prompting several state assemblies to pass resolutions opposing the exercise.

Following this, the Centre subsequently put the NPR on hold.

Legally, the NPR is anchored in the Citizenship (Registration of Citizens and Issue of National Identity Cards) Rules, 2003, framed under the Citizenship Act, 1955. The rules allow for the preparation of a population register and provide for verification processes that could later feed into the NRC framework.

The NPR was first carried out in 2010, alongside the houselisting phase of the 2011 Census, and was later updated through a door-to-door survey in 2015. In 2019, the Registrar General of India resumed preparatory work, including digitisation of earlier data and finalisation of the NPR questionnaire. However, the exercise was postponed -- first due to public opposition and later because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

As per government officials cited in the report, no decision has been taken on a nationwide NRC, and they maintain that the latest budgetary provision is aimed at administrative readiness, not an immediate rollout of the NPR.