The Ministry of Home Affairs held a high-level meeting to address the administrative status of the census in Manipur. The session included key figures such as Manipur Governor Ajay Kumar Bhalla, Chief Minister Yumnam Khemchand Singh, and Union Home Secretary Govind Mohan, alongside other senior government officials. Following these discussions, the central government confirmed that the census exercise in the state will be deferred.

The decision to pause the data collection process comes in the wake of significant local protests. While the official announcement cites the need to address regional concerns, the move is closely tied to broader anxieties surrounding the National Register of Citizens (NRC). Local groups have expressed apprehension that the census could be used as a precursor to an NRC-style verification process, which has historically been a point of intense political and social friction in the region.

There is currently no clear timeline for when the census might resume in the state. The government has not yet released a detailed roadmap for how it intends to resolve the underlying tensions that led to the deferral. The meeting focused primarily on the immediate administrative decision to halt the process rather than outlining a long-term strategy for data collection in the conflict-affected state.