Census 2027: Houselisting starts in Himachal; self-enumeration in Keralam, Nagaland
New Delhi, June 16
The field operations for the Houselisting and Housing Census under Phase-I of Census 2027 commenced in Himachal Pradesh on Tuesday, while the self-enumeration facility began in Keralam and Nagaland.
The house-to-house visits by enumerators will continue till July 15, 2026, in Himachal Pradesh; however, the self-enumeration commenced in Keralam, and Nagaland will remain available till June 30.
The corresponding Houselisting and Housing Census field operations in Keralam and Nagaland will be conducted from July 1 to July 30.
The house-to-house field operations are currently underway in Gujarat, Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh, Puducherry and Uttar Pradesh.
As per the MHA, residents who have completed self-enumeration are requested to keep their generated self-enumeration ID (SE ID) ready and share the same with the enumerator during a field visit to complete the HLO process.
"Households that have not opted for self-enumeration will be covered during the physical house-to-house visit by enumerators."
Meanwhile, Houselisting and Housing Census operations conducted from May 16 to June 14 have been completed in Maharashtra, Meghalaya, Rajasthan and Jharkhand, along with the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) area in Delhi. Houselisting operations in Punjab were also concluded on June 13.
Till now, 23 states and UTs, namely, Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Bihar, Chandigarh, Chhattisgarh, Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu, Delhi, Goa, Haryana, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Lakshadweep, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Odisha, Punjab, Rajasthan, Sikkim, Telangana and Uttarakhand, have completed the first phase of Census 2027.
Census 2027 is being conducted using digital tools for the first time, with data collection being undertaken through a dedicated mobile application while retaining the traditional door-to-door enumeration process to ensure comprehensive and accurate coverage. During the Houselisting and Housing Census phase, information relating to housing conditions, household details, amenities available and assets possessed by households is being collected through a structured questionnaire comprising 33 notified questions.
MHA said all information collected under the Census Act, 1948, remains strictly confidential and is used solely for statistical purposes and development planning. Residents in the notified states and UTs are requested to actively participate in the Census process and extend full cooperation to Enumerators during field visits.
— ANI
Reader Comments
Self-enumeration in Kerala and Nagaland is a great move. But why only these two states? Every state should have this option - it saves time and reduces errors. Also, I hope the 33 questions are actually useful for planning and not just collecting useless data like 'how many fans do you own' again.
Good to see Himachal starting on time. But I'm concerned about privacy - all my house details, amenities, assets? In a government app? With data breaches happening everywhere, how secure is this 'dedicated mobile application'? Need transparency on data protection, MHA! 🔒
I work in urban planning, and I can't stress enough how important accurate census data is for development. The self-enumeration option is smart - it reduces the workload on enumerators who often have to go back multiple times to empty houses. But July 30 deadline is tight for Kerala and Nagaland given the monsoon season. Hope they account for weather delays! 🌧️
Every 10 years this happens - enumerators come, ask about our assets, and then we hear nothing about how this data improved our lives. The Census Act says it's confidential, but I still feel uneasy sharing details about our house and possessions. At least this time it's digital, so maybe they'll actually use the data for something meaningful. Fingers crossed! 🤞
As someone from Himachal, I'm glad we're first in line for the digital census. But I hope the enumerators are properly trained - last time in 2011, the paper forms were a mess and many people were double-count
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