India to launch first digital Census with self-enumeration portal in 2026-27

India is set to conduct its 16th national Census, and eighth since Independence, as a pioneering digital exercise, featuring a special dedicated web portal for self-enumeration that will be available for both phases of the massive exercise. Officials announced on Monday that enumerators will collect data using mobile applications on their Android and Apple phones, marking a significant technological leap for the country's decennial population count.

This upcoming Census will be the first time citizens can self-enumerate through a dedicated web portal, offering a convenient option for data submission. "Digital Census initiative is a transformational step towards modernising the Census process. For the first time, technology will be used to collect data and send it electronically to the central server. This will result in early availability of Census data," an official stated. Stringent data security measures are being implemented to ensure the safety of information during collection, transmission, and storage. A gazette notification for the Census was issued on June 16.

The Census will be conducted in two main phases. The Houselisting and Housing Census (HLO) is scheduled to commence on April 1, 2026, followed by the Population Enumeration (PE) starting on February 1, 2027. Significantly, this Census will also include the enumeration of castes of household members, a comprehensive exercise not conducted since 1931. The Registrar General of India (RGI) has established a three-tier training program—national, master, and field trainers—to prepare approximately 34 lakh enumerators and supervisors for this massive undertaking. States and Union Territories have been instructed to finalize any changes in administrative boundaries by December 31, 2025, as these will be frozen for the Census exercise. The reference date for the Census 2027 will be 00:00 hrs of March 1, 2027, with an earlier reference date of October 1, 2026, for snowbound regions like Ladakh, Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, and Uttarakhand.