The Government of India on 1st April commenced the first phase of Census 2027, marking the beginning of the world’s largest administrative and statistical exercise with a major digital transformation.
The exercise began with the Houselisting and Housing Census (HLO) phase, introducing digital data capture and, for the first time, a self-enumeration facility for citizens.
President Droupadi Murmu inaugurated the national exercise by becoming the first citizen to complete the self-enumeration process, continuing the long-standing tradition of initiating the Census with the Head of State.
The self-enumeration facility has been rolled out in select regions, including Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Goa, Karnataka, Lakshadweep, Mizoram, Odisha, Sikkim, as well as areas under the New Delhi Municipal Council and the Delhi Cantonment Board.
The online self-enumeration system is a secure, web-based platform available in 16 regional languages, allowing citizens to submit household details prior to the visit of enumerators. Upon submission, a Self-Enumeration ID (SE ID) is generated, which must be shared with officials during field verification.
The nationwide HLO phase will be conducted from April 1 to September 30, 2026, with each State and Union Territory carrying out a 30-day enumeration exercise, preceded by a 15-day self-enumeration window.
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