Odisha has announced that it will begin the houselisting operations (HLO) phase of Census 2027 in April, deploying nearly 100,000 enumerators across the state. This comes a day after the Centre notified the nationwide HLO phase, scheduled from April 1 to September 30, 2026. Uttar Pradesh plans to conduct the exercise in May and June, mobilising 600,000 enumerators, while most other states are expected to start in the early part of the specified window.
Poll-bound states like West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Assam, and the Union Territory of Puducherry are likely to begin the HLO phase only after elections, anticipated by the third week of May. The government has also introduced a self-enumeration option, available 15 days before the start of the HLO, allowing residents to submit their details digitally via an OTP-based verification system.
The population enumeration phase, which will include the caste census for the first time in independent India, is scheduled for February 2027. A final revision round in early March will ensure all residents are counted. Remote and difficult-to-access regions, including Ladakh, snowbound areas of Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, and Uttarakhand, will conduct population enumeration in September 2026.
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Census 2027 will be India’s first fully digital census, with around 90% of data expected to be collected through mobile applications. The Census Management and Monitoring System (CMMS) will oversee real-time data collection, management, and monitoring. Strict data security protocols have been introduced, including disabling screenshots in the app and limiting one mobile number per household.
About three million field functionaries—enumerators, supervisors, and master trainers—will be deployed, receiving honoraria for their additional work. Training for these personnel will be conducted in January, February, and March 2026, ahead of the nationwide HLO rollout. A pre-test in November 2025 piloted 35 household questions covering housing, amenities, cooking fuel, cereals consumed, and building materials.
Census 2027, the 16th census in India and the eighth after Independence, will provide vital micro-level data on demographics, housing, literacy, religion, language, Scheduled Castes and Tribes, economic activity, migration, and fertility. Conducted under the Census Act, 1948, and Census Rules, 1990, it remains the country’s largest source of primary data, forming the backbone for planning and policy-making across India.
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