New Delhi: India has launched the first phase of Census 2027, marking the start of what is set to be the world’s largest population exercise, and the first to be conducted digitally with an option for self-enumeration.
The exercise, the country’s 16th Census and eighth since Independence, began on April 1 with the House Listing and Housing Census phase, which will run across states and Union Territories in staggered schedules.
For the first time, enumerators will collect and submit data through a mobile application using smartphones, replacing the traditional paper-based system. Alongside this, residents can also submit their details online through a self-enumeration portal available in 16 languages, including Hindi and English.
The first phase will focus on housing conditions, household amenities, and assets. Enumerators will gather information on construction materials, number of residents, ownership status, availability of water, sanitation, electricity, cooking fuel, and access to assets such as vehicles, mobile phones, and internet services.
States including Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Delhi, Goa, Karnataka, Lakshadweep, Mizoram, Odisha and Sikkim will carry out houselisting from April 16 to May 15, with self-enumeration from April 1 to April 15.
Another group, including Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Chandigarh, Chhattisgarh, and Haryana, will begin houselisting from May 1 to May 30, preceded by a self-enumeration window from April 16 to April 30.
The second phase, Population Enumeration, is scheduled for February 2027, while snow-bound regions such as Ladakh and parts of Jammu and Kashmir, Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh will follow an earlier schedule from September 2026.
