Home / Technology / Census 2027: Digital Leap for India's Population Count
Census 2027: Digital Leap for India's Population Count
5 Mar
Summary
- India will conduct its first digital census in 2027, utilizing advanced technology.
- Mascots Pragati and Vikas symbolize gender equality in census participation.
- Citizens can self-enumerate online in 16 languages before field surveys.
India is embarking on Census 2027, a monumental population exercise that will embrace digital tools for the first time. Union Home Minister Amit Shah recently inaugurated a suite of digital platforms and unveiled mascots Pragati and Vikas, symbolizing gender parity in participation. This census, expected to be the world's largest, will proceed in two phases.
The initial phase, Houselisting and Housing Census, is scheduled from April 1 to September 30, 2026, collecting housing and amenity details. Citizens will have an optional 15-day window for self-enumeration via a secure online portal in 16 languages before the physical survey commences.
The second phase, focused on population enumeration, will gather demographic, social, and economic data for all individuals. This is planned for February 2027 across the nation. However, due to weather, it will occur earlier in September for Ladakh and snow-bound regions of Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, and Uttarakhand.
Developed by the Centre for Development of Advanced Computing, the digital infrastructure includes a web application for block creation using satellite imagery, a mobile app for enumerators, the self-enumeration portal, and a management system for real-time progress tracking. Over 30 lakh personnel will be deployed for this technologically driven census.
