NEW DELHI: The Centre has released Rs 4,102 crore to states and Union Territories (UTs) so far for preparations for Census 2027, including training of census personnel, manpower support, technical infrastructure and payment of honorarium, the Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) informed the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday.
Minister of State for Home Nityanand Rai, in a written reply to questions from several MPs, said training of master trainers, field trainers, enumerators and supervisors for the first phase had been completed or was progressing as per the notified schedule in coordination with state and UT governments.
The first phase — the Houselisting and Housing Census — has been completed in 31 states and UTs, while the exercise in the remaining areas is scheduled to conclude by September 2026.
According to the MHA, the first phase has been completed in Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Bihar, Chandigarh, Chhattisgarh, Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu, Delhi, Goa, Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Ladakh, Lakshadweep, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Odisha, Puducherry, Punjab, Rajasthan, Sikkim, Telangana, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Kerala and Nagaland.
The second phase of the Population Census will be conducted from September 1 to 30, 2026, in Ladakh and the snow-bound non-synchronous areas of Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand. A revisional round will follow from October 1 to 5.
For the first time, respondents will also have the option of self-enumeration through an online portal from August 17 to 31. The government has already deployed mobile applications for data collection and digital platforms, including the Census Management and Monitoring System portal, for the first phase. Digital tools for the second phase have also been developed.
Census 2027 is India’s first census to rely extensively on digital data collection, with enumerators using a dedicated mobile application while retaining the door-to-door enumeration process.
During the house-listing phase, officials are collecting information on housing conditions, household characteristics, amenities and assets through a structured questionnaire containing 33 notified questions, the Minister said, while reiterating that all information collected under the Census Act, 1948, will remain strictly confidential and be used only for statistical purposes and development planning.