New Delhi, April 1: The world’s largest administrative and statistical campaign, Census 2027, formally began on Wednesday. The central government has decided to conduct the census entirely digitally, initiating the first phase of the “Houselisting and Housing Enumeration” (Houselisting Operation). Significantly, for the first time, citizens have been provided with the facility to self-enumerate, allowing them to enter their family details online.
Maintaining national tradition, President Droupadi Murmu inaugurated this national campaign by conducting the first self-enumeration. Subsequently, Vice President C.P. Radhakrishnan, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and Union Home and Cooperation Minister Amit Shah also completed their self-enumeration online.
Prime Minister Modi appealed to the countrymen to self-register their household details and play an active role in this important national exercise. Describing the census as the cornerstone of development plans, he emphasized the need for public participation to make it successful.
According to the Union Home Ministry, the first phase of Census 2027, including houselisting and housing enumeration, will be conducted across the country between April 1 and September 30. This phase will collect detailed information on the condition of houses, available amenities, assets, and infrastructure.
According to the government, a total of 33 questions have been notified for this phase, which will provide a crucial basis for evidence-based policymaking and targeted welfare schemes.
In the initial phase, the self-enumeration facility has been launched in eight states and union territories: the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Goa, Karnataka, Lakshadweep, Mizoram, Odisha, Sikkim, and the New Delhi Municipal Council and Delhi Cantonment Board areas of Delhi. On the first day, approximately 55,000 households from these areas utilized the self-enumeration facility, demonstrating the growing awareness and participation of people in this digital initiative.
According to the government, self-enumeration is a secure web-based system available in 16 regional languages. Citizens can log in to the designated portal using their mobile number and basic identification information. After filling out and submitting the form, a unique self-enumeration ID is generated, which must be shared with the enumerator during verification.
Despite the availability of digital services, traditional procedures will continue. Enumerators will collect information door-to-door in designated areas, as in previous censuses. This time, a new arrangement has been introduced for self-enumeration, allowing more people to enter their own data, and making the process faster and more accurate.
The government has also clarified that all data collected under the Census Act, 1948, will be kept strictly confidential and used only for statistical and policy purposes. The platform being used for the digital census has adopted high-level security measures, including strong encryption and multi-layered authentication.
Experts believe that the inclusion of digital technology in Census 2027 will not only make the data collection process more transparent and faster, but will also reduce errors. This will provide the government with near-real-time data, which will help in future planning and better allocation of resources. The
census is considered a vital tool of governance, as the data obtained from it forms the basis for formulating development plans, infrastructure, education, health, and employment policies for the next ten years. Therefore, the government has appealed to citizens to actively participate in this process through self-enumeration or by assisting enumerators.
Thus, this digital and participatory model of Census 2027 is being considered a major step towards data-driven governance in India, which could prove crucial for the overall development of the country.