India will conduct its much-delayed national census soon, Interior Minister Amit Shah said on Tuesday, after a delay of about three years.

The once-in-a-decade survey was due in 2021 but was delayed by the pandemic and technical and logistical hurdles.

Reuters last month reported that India was likely to begin conducting the census in September, as Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government looks to plug important data gaps in his third term after years of criticism.

India will take about 18 months to complete the new survey once it begins, the report said.