Aadhaar number

ANNOUNCED (Q38). Records the person's Aadhaar number. NEW in 2027 and among the most debated items — commentators note the shift 'from how India counts its people to how much personal information a census may record'. Census data is protected under Section 15 of the Census Act, 1948 (confidential, inadmissible as evidence, exempt from RTI). Whether providing Aadhaar is voluntary was not specified in available reports — mark as unconfirmed detail.

A similar Aadhaar question was pre-tested for the postponed 2021 census. Confidence: high that the item exists (Civilsdaily, shabariseva, barristery, Wikipedia all list it).