The Census of India 2001, is historic and epoch making, being the first census of the twenty-first century and the third millennium. It reveals benchmark data on the state of abundant human resources available in the country, their demography, culture and economic structure at a juncture, which marks a centennial and millennial transition.

The population enumeration of 2001 census was undertaken during 9-28 February 2001, with a revisional round from 1-5 March 2001. The Census moment, the referral time at which the snapshot of the population is taken, was 00.00 hours of the 1 March 2001. Until the 1991 Census, the sunrise of 1 March was taken to be the census moment. The houseless population, as has been the usual practice, was enumerated on the night of 28 February 2001.