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Key Points

Odisha Census Director Nikhil Pawan Kalyan announced preparations for the 2027 census, emphasizing digital tools for accuracy. The census will include caste enumeration and be conducted in two phases. Citizens are urged to cooperate as data will shape future policies. The MHA has set March 1, 2027, as the reference date for most states.

Key Points: Odisha Census Director Nikhil Pawan Kalyan Plans Digital Tools for 2027 Census

  • Odisha begins training officers for 2027 census
  • Digital tools like mobile apps to enhance data collection
  • Caste enumeration included in two-phase process
  • Citizens urged to cooperate for accurate policy-making
3 min read

We plan to leverage advanced digital tools, says Odisha Census Director after MHA issues notification on census

Odisha Census Director announces digital census preparations for 2027, emphasizing accuracy and citizen cooperation with mobile apps and analytics.

"We want to ensure a 100% accurate census as data is the basis of all policies in the country. - Nikhil Pawan Kalyan"

Bhubaneswar, June 17

Odisha Census Director Nikhil Pawan Kalyan said preparations have begun for the enumeration exercise, including officer training and enumerator appointments, aiming for 100 per cent accuracy using digital tools. The Centre officially notified the launch of the 16th Census of India, including caste enumeration, with March 1, 2027, as the reference date.

The Odisha Census Director further appealed to the citizens to cooperate and stay informed about the whole process.

Speaking to ANI on Monday, Kalyan said, "The Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India has issued a notification today announcing the launch of the upcoming population census across all the states and Union Territories, including Odisha... The reference date for the census is 12 AM, 1st March, 2027, meaning all enumeration and data-related activities must be completed based on this reference point. We will initiate our activities from now on... This includes training of officers, appointment of enumerators... We want to ensure a 100 per cent accurate census as data is the basis of all policies in the country... I appeal to all the citizens to cooperate and stay informed. We will share timely updates as operations progress... We plan to leverage advanced digital tools - including mobile applications for data collection, storage and other analytics..."

On Monday, the central government notified the population census, the process of which will begin in March 2027.

As per a gazette notification released by the Ministry of Home Affairs, "In exercise of the powers conferred by Section three of the Census Act 1948 and in suppression of the notification of the Government of India in the Ministry of Home Affairs dated March 26, 2018, the Central Government declared that a census of the population of India shall be taken during the year 2027, as per a circular released by the Ministry of Home Affairs.

"The reference date for the census shall be March 1, 2027, except for the Union territory of Ladakh and the snow-bound non-synchronous areas of the Union territory of Jammu and Kashmir and the states of Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand.

Furthermore, the reference date for the Union Territory of Ladakh, snow-bound non-synchronous areas of the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir, and the states of Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand will be October 1, 2026.

The Census will be conducted in two phases. In phase 1, House Listing Operation (HLO), the housing conditions, assets and amenities of each household will be collected.

Subsequently, in the second phase, Population Enumeration (PE), the demographic, socio-economic, cultural and other details of every person in each household will be collected.

Caste enumeration will also be done during the census.

For Census activities, about 34 lakh enumerators and supervisors and around 1.3 lakh Census functionaries would be deployed. This is the 16th Census since its beginning and the 8th since independence.

The ensuing Census will be conducted through digital means using mobile applications.

Provision of Self-enumeration would also be made available to the people.

Very stringent data security measures would be kept in place to ensure data security at the time of collection, transmission and storage.

- ANI

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Reader Comments

R
Rajesh K.
Digital census is a welcome move! This will reduce errors and make data processing faster. Hope they train enumerators properly - last time in our village many people were left out because the surveyor didn't visit remote areas. Accuracy should be top priority 🇮🇳
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Priya M.
Good to see caste enumeration being included. This data is crucial for policy making and welfare schemes. But I hope the digital tools are accessible to all - many elderly in my family struggle with mobile apps. Offline options should remain available.
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Amit S.
Concerned about data security. With so many enumerators having access to personal information, what safeguards are in place? Recent Aadhaar leaks show we can't be too careful. The government must ensure complete protection of citizens' private data.
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Sunita R.
As a teacher in rural Odisha, I hope they involve local schools and anganwadi workers in the process. We know our communities best and can help ensure no one is missed. Digital is good, but grassroots human touch is equally important 👍
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Vikram J.
Why such a long gap between notification and reference date? 3 years seems excessive. Other countries conduct census more frequently. Our policies need current data, not information that's already 2-3 years old by the time it's processed.
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Neha P.
Appreciate the focus on snow-bound areas getting different dates. Shows thoughtful planning. But what about flood-prone regions? In coastal Odisha, many villages become inaccessible during monsoon. Hope they've considered seasonal challenges across all states.

We welcome thoughtful discussions from our readers. Please keep comments respectful and on-topic.

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