Ladakh will start the second phase of Census 2027 on 17 August 2026 and will be among the first regions to record caste details. The schedule is expected to carry about 40 questions, including an open-ended column where respondents state their caste, which will be recorded as declared. Self-enumeration will run from 17 to 31 August, followed by house-to-house population counting. Paper schedules will be used in some areas because defence structures near the Line of Actual Control (LAC) cannot be geo-tagged for security reasons. Snow-bound areas of Ladakh, Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand will finish enumeration ahead of the rest of India.