NEW DELHI – Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India, Shri Mritunjay Kumar Narayan, announced today that the long-awaited Census 2027 will officially commence its first phase on April 1, 2026. This 16th Indian Census marks a historic shift as the world’s largest administrative exercise goes fully digital for the first time.
The government has allocated an outlay of ₹11,718.24 crore to manage the massive scale of the operation, which involves over 3.1 million trained enumerators and supervisors.
A Two-Phase Digital Roadmap
The Census will be conducted in two distinct stages to ensure comprehensive data collection:
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Phase I: House Listing & Housing Census (HLO)
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Timeline: April to September 2026 (varies by State/UT).
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Focus: Mapping housing conditions, household amenities, and assets.
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Phase II: Population Enumeration (PE)
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Timeline: February 2027 (with earlier dates for snow-bound regions).
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Focus: Demographic data, education, migration, and fertility. Notably, this phase will also include the enumeration of Castes.
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First-Ever “Self-Enumeration” Option
In a major tech-driven update, citizens can now fill out their own census forms through a secure web portal (se.census.gov.in) before an official visits their home.
The Self-Enumeration Process:
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Login: Use a mobile number to access the portal.
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Fill Details: Enter information in any of the 16 available languages.
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Get SE ID: Receive a unique ID upon submission.
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Verification: Share the SE ID with the door-to-door enumerator to confirm and include your data.
Immediate Rollout: April 1 to May 15
The first wave of Phase I begins this week in specific regions. Citizens in these areas can self-enumerate from April 1–15, followed by field visits from April 16–May 15:
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Regions: Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Goa, Karnataka, Lakshadweep, Mizoram, Odisha, Sikkim, and parts of Delhi (NDMC and Cantonment Board).
High-Tech Infrastructure & Security
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Mobile App: Enumerators will use a dedicated app on their smartphones to upload data in real-time, replacing traditional paper schedules.
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Administrative Freeze: All boundaries of districts, sub-districts, and villages have been frozen from Jan 1, 2026, to March 31, 2027, to ensure data consistency across 639,902 villages.
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Data Privacy: The Commissioner assured that robust measures are in place to secure the digital data of over 1.4 billion people.
