Revolutionizing Data Collection: India's First Digital Census Set to Launch

Introduction to the Digital Census

New Delhi: Officials announced on Monday that a specialized web portal will be introduced for self-enumeration during the forthcoming Census, which will be accessible throughout both phases of the national enumeration process.

This marks the first instance of a digital census in the country, where enumerators will gather citizen data using mobile applications compatible with both Android and Apple devices.

For the first time, citizens will have the opportunity to self-enumerate via a dedicated web portal, available during both phases of the Census: the Houselisting and Housing Census (HLO) and the Population Enumeration.

"The Digital Census initiative represents a significant advancement in modernizing the Census process. Technology will be employed to collect data and transmit it electronically to a central server, facilitating quicker access to Census data," an official stated.

Robust data security protocols will be implemented to safeguard information during collection, transmission, and storage.

The HLO phase is set to commence on April 1, 2026, followed by the Population Enumeration phase starting on February 1, 2027, which will also include the enumeration of household members' castes.

The reference date for the Census 2027 will be 00:00 hours on March 1, 2027, with specific dates for Union Territories of Ladakh and Jammu and Kashmir, as well as certain snowbound areas in Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand.

This will be the 16th Census conducted in the country and the 8th since gaining independence, with a gazette notification issued on June 16.

The Registrar General of India has established a three-tier training program tailored for each phase, involving national trainers, master trainers, and field trainers.

Field trainers will be responsible for training approximately 3.4 million enumerators and supervisors for this extensive operation.

The RGI has instructed states and Union Territories to finalize any proposed adjustments to administrative unit boundaries by December 31, which will be considered definitive for the Census.

In correspondence to all states and Union Territories, Mritunjay Kumar Narayan, the Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India, noted that all villages and towns will be segmented into uniform enumeration blocks, with an enumerator assigned to each block to prevent omissions or duplications during the population count.

According to established guidelines, the Census can only be conducted three months after the boundaries of administrative units, such as districts and police stations, have been finalized.

Narayan indicated that from April 1, 2026, the Houselisting Operation will commence, along with the appointment of supervisors and enumerators, leading up to the population Census starting on February 1, 2027.