The Centre has appointed senior IAS officer Amit Sharma as Director of Census Operations and Citizen Registration for Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh. The appointment was made effective from November 24 and will continue until December 31 or until further orders.
Sharma, a 2012-batch IAS officer from the AGMUT cadre, will be based in Srinagar. His posting comes under central deputation through the Central Staffing Scheme.
The upcoming Census 2027 will be carried out in two phases. House Listing and Housing Census will take place between April and September 2026, while population enumeration is scheduled for February 2027, with a reference date of March 1, 2027.
For Ladakh and snow-bound areas of Jammu and Kashmir, the exercise will be conducted in September 2026 with a reference date of October 1, 2026.
The census is returning after a 16-year gap, as the last one was conducted in 2011. The 2021 census was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, despite all preparations being completed. Over 30 lakh enumerators and supervisors are expected to be deployed for the nationwide operation.
