Census officials from all states briefed about road ahead in two-day conference

PTI | July 05, 2025  New Delhi : In preparation for the upcoming Census, the Registrar General of India (RGI) has organised a two-day conference of the Directors of Census Operations from all states and Union Territories, officials said on Saturday.

The officials were given a detailed presentation about the road ahead, including the digital interface, questionnaire, team formation, and house listing operations.

"The two-day conference of Directors of Census Operations concluded on July 4, 2025, with discussions on preparations, road ahead, and teamwork for Census 2027. RG&CCI (Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India) urged all to take forward the insights and take steps for a comprehensive population Census with caste enumeration," the RGI said in an X post.

The RGI will create a digital interface to make real-time updates about the process available for all stakeholders.

The house listing operations will begin on April 1, 2026, marking the first phase of the decennial exercise.

The Census is a two-phase exercise. In the first phase — the House Listing Operation — the housing conditions, assets, and amenities of each household will be collected.

In the second phase — the Population Enumeration — scheduled to start on February 1, 2027, the demographic, socio-economic, cultural, and other details of every member of each household will be collected, according to a recent letter from Registrar General of India Mrityunjay Kumar Narayan to all states and Union Territories.

The upcoming Census is the 16th such exercise since the beginning and the eighth after Independence. During the Census, caste enumeration will also be done.

In a first, the forthcoming Census will be conducted through digital means, using mobile applications. The provision for self-enumeration would also be made available to the people.

The Office of the Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India had prepared around three dozen questions to be asked to the citizens.

The survey will ask households about ownership of items such as phones, internet, vehicles (bicycle, scooter, motorcycle, car, jeep, van), and appliances (radio, television, transistor), among others.