New Delhi - Starting next year, India will begin to calculate its wide population in the mammoth movement. The first census in 16 years will be conducted on the numbers since independence and will include for the first time a controversial issue about caste.

The Home Office announced plans to conduct a two-stage count in a statement Wednesday night, as of March 1, 2027.

India's last official census in 2011 was 1.21 billion people. According to the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, the country's population is now estimated to exceed 1.4 billion, making it the most populous country in the world.

The once-decade demographic survey originally expired in 2021, but was delayed by the 19th pandemic and logistical obstacles.

Here is what the Indian census is and why it matters.

The official count of the people of the country is used to allocate many welfare schemes and other policies in India.

This may also pave the way for a redrawing of India’s political landscape, as seats are added to the lower house of parliament and state parliament to represent a larger population.

Under the Women’s Booking Act of 2023, a third of the seats will be set aside for women.

The Indian Census is said to be the largest peacetime mobilization in the world.

Nearly 2.7 million people were hired to carry out the 2011 census and visited more than 240 million households.

The Ministry of Home Affairs said the new census will be divided into two phases and ended by March 1, 2027. The government will shed light on the exercise details and schedule for later this month.

They will collect information about the house and its residents, such as gender, age, marital status, religion, native language, language, literacy and economic activities, and caste.

The next census will be the first to consider the caste status of most Indians.

Caste is an ancient social hierarchy in India and is crucial to India's life and politics. In India, especially among Hindus, hundreds of caste groups are based on occupation and economic status, but the country has limited or outdated data to see how many people belong to them.

Since the first census conducted by Independent India in 1951, it has calculated only members of the Dalits and adivasis, known as the Planned Castes and Tribes.

But India also has quotas to retain government work, university admissions and elected offices for a group of lower and intermediate castes that are considered other backward classes. India's current policy cap quota is 50%, and OBC retains 27%. The counts of these groups may lead to calls for quotas increase.

The successive Indian government has refused to update caste data, believing that this could lead to social unrest.

The announcement on the census was months ago when caste was a key issue before India's poorest state of Bihar. Prime Minister Narendra Modi's party hosts a coalition government in Bihar.