India's 2027 Digital Census: Two-Phase Operation Beginning April 2026 with Mobile App Data Collection

New Delhi:

The 2027 national census, considered one of the world's largest administrative and statistical exercises, will be conducted from April 2026 to February 2027, utilizing a mobile application for data collection, as announced by the government on Friday evening.

The Union Cabinet has approved Rs 11,718.24 crore for the census operations, which will occur in two distinct phases. The first phase, house-listing, will run from April to September 2026, followed by the population enumeration phase continuing until February 2027. For regions such as Ladakh and snow-covered areas in Jammu and Kashmir, Uttarakhand, and Himachal Pradesh, the population enumeration will take place in September 2026.

Notably, this census will incorporate caste enumeration, with relevant data electronically recorded during the population enumeration phase.

Approximately 30 lakh field workers will be deployed for this massive undertaking, with a government-established website monitoring the process to ensure high-quality data collection.

The census methodology involves enumerators, typically government schoolteachers, visiting every household with comprehensive questionnaires. Similar to BLOs conducting voter re-verification drives in states like Bengal and Tamil Nadu (which have upcoming elections next year), these officials will be appointed by respective state governments while maintaining their regular employment. Additional functionaries at sub-district, district, and state levels will also be state government appointees.

After collection and analysis, the dissemination of data will be enhanced, enabling ministries to access information instantly in machine-readable and actionable formats, facilitating more effective policy formulation, according to government sources who spoke to NDTV.

A key objective is to make the census data available within the shortest possible timeframe.

Key innovations for Census 2027 include:

The first fully digital census: Data collection will utilize mobile applications compatible with both Android and iOS platforms

Implementation of a Census Management & Monitoring System (CMMS) portal developed to manage and monitor the entire process in real-time

Introduction of a House-listing Block (HLB) creator web map application

'Self-enumeration' options available to the public

Enhanced security features to protect collected data

The 2027 census will feature a comprehensive publicity campaign to promote nationwide awareness, inclusive participation, last-mile engagement, and support for field operations. It will emphasize sharing accurate, authentic, and timely data for maximum impact.

Additionally, the census presents significant employment opportunities, generating approximately 1.02 crore 'man-days' of work. This initiative will also contribute to capacity-building by teaching digital data-handling, monitoring, and coordination skills that could enhance participants' future employment prospects.

The upcoming census will be India's sixteenth overall and eighth since independence, representing the most comprehensive source of primary data at village, town, and ward levels.