Census 2027: Self-enumeration begins in Kerala; governor, Chief Minister complete process
Thiruvananthapuram, June 16
Self-enumeration for Census 2027 officially began in Keralam, with Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar and Chief Minister VD Satheesan becoming the first to complete the process in the state.
At a function held at Lok Bhavan, Governor Arlekar submitted his details through the Census portal and completed self-enumeration. CM VD Satheesan later completed the process at Mascot Hotel, marking the formal launch of self-enumeration activities in Keralam.
Governor Arlekar said the country was witnessing a major milestone through the digital Census 2027 and urged people across the state to cooperate with the exercise.
He said, "accurate information on households, occupations, businesses and living standards was essential for formulating welfare schemes and development policies. He also congratulated all officials involved in India's first fully digital census."
CM VD Satheesan said, "census data forms the basis for planning development and welfare programmes and called upon citizens to actively participate in the exercise. He said the information collected would help ensure that government benefits reach the intended beneficiaries and aid in policy formulation and future planning."
Chief Secretary A Jayathilak, Census State Nodal Officer and General Administration Secretary K Biju, Director of Census Operations Mithra T, Governor's Secretary K Vasuki, District Collector Anu Kumari and Census Executive Officer Anjali Jose attended the event. Chief Secretary A Jayathilak later completed self-enumeration at his residence.
The 15-day self-enumeration phase, which began on June 16, allows citizens to directly submit their information through the Census portal. The details provided will later be verified by enumerators during field visits.
Enumerators, including teachers and other government employees, along with around 10,189 supervisors, have been deployed for data collection. Information will be collected by visiting house listing blocks identified through a web mapping application. Enumerators will use the House Listing Operation app, while the entire process will be coordinated through the Census Management and Monitoring System web portal.
The next phase of Census operations in Keralam will begin on July 1. The Census of India, one of the world's largest administrative and statistical exercises, has a history of over 150 years. The first census was conducted in 1872, and the last in 2011. The ongoing exercise is the 16th Census overall and the eighth since Independence.
— ANI
Reader Comments
Finally! After 16 years of waiting for a new census, we are going digital. Kerala leads again in implementation, but I'm skeptical about data privacy. The government should clarify how this personal information will be stored and protected. Still, it's a progressive step forward for India.
Wait, self-enumeration means anyone can just type in fake data? What if some families give wrong information to get more benefits? And 15 days is too short for elderly who aren't tech-savvy. Enumerators should help them in person. Just my two paise on this.
A digital census after 2011? Long overdue! I remember standing in queues for the last one. Now with self-enumeration, we can do it from home while sipping chai. 😄 But why only 15 days? For crores of households, we need at least a month. At least Kerala is setting an example in digital governance.
Respect to the Governor and CM for completing it first, showing leadership. But honestly, I'm more concerned about people in remote areas without internet. Not everyone in Kerala has a smartphone or data plan. The government must ensure field enumerators cover those gaps, or this digital census becomes digital discrimination.
Great initiative by Census of India! But I hope this time they actually use the data for policy making, not just keep it in archives. The 2011 census data was barely used. Also, please ensure multiple language options - my grandmother only reads Malayalam. All the best to the 10,189 supervisors deployed!
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