The Central Government has notified the schedule for conducting the population Census in the snow-bound non-synchronous areas of Ladakh, Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand. The notification, issued under Section 3 of the Census Act, 1948, read with Rules 6A and 6D of the Census Rules, 1990, declares that the Census will be conducted in the Union Territory of Ladakh, the snow-bound non-synchronous areas of the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir, and the snow-bound non-synchronous areas of Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand. Ahead of the house-to-house population enumeration, the Government has provided an option for self-enumeration from August 17 to August 31, 2026. The notification also states that the reference date for the Census in these snow-bound non-synchronous areas will be 00:00 hours on October 1, 2026. The Ministry of Home Affairs has said that details of the notified snow-bound non-synchronous areas of Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand can be accessed through the official Census website.