India’s upcoming Census 2027 will be conducted entirely through digital processes, with the Union government planning to deploy around 3.2 million government officials for field work across the country.
The census, originally due in 2021, was postponed due to the COVID-19 outbreak. The Centre has now scheduled the start of Census 2027-related work from April 1.
The exercise will be carried out in two phases. In the first phase, from April to September, officials will prepare the house listing and housing count, collecting responses to 33 questions from residents.
The second phase is set to begin from February next year, when the population enumeration will be taken up. Caste-wise details are also expected to be collected during this phase.
To support the digital rollout, the Union government has introduced new campaign symbols and platforms. Union Home Minister Amit Shah launched four key digital components in Delhi, including a satellite-assisted house listing block creator, a mobile app for enumerators in 16 languages, a self-enumeration portal for citizens to upload details online, and a census management and monitoring system developed by the Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC). The campaign mascots were also unveiled—‘Vikas’ (male) and ‘Pragati’ (female).
