Raipur, January 6, 2026: India Census 2027 will be the country’s first digital census, with data collection through a mobile app and monitoring and management of the entire process through a web portal.
Chhattisgarh Director of Census Operations Kartikeya Goyal today said this time the census will also include a provision for self-enumeration, through which citizens will be able to register their information themselves.
Chief Secretary Vikas Sheel said that the upcoming census is being conducted entirely in a digital format, therefore, preparations should be made to provide appropriate training to all concerned parties in a timely manner.
In the first phase of Census 2027, the house listing and enumeration work is proposed to be conducted over a period of 30 days between April 1 and September 30, 2026.
The first meeting of the Chhattisgarh State Level Census Coordination Committee (SLCCC) regarding Census 2027 was held today under the chairmanship of Chief Secretary Vikas Sheel. Additional Chief Secretary Home and State Nodal Officer (Census) Manoj Pingua, Director of Census Operations Kartikeya Goyal, senior officers from NIC and other departments were present at the meeting.
Additional Chief Secretary Home Pingua informed the committee in the meeting that the Home Department is the nodal department for the census in Chhattisgarh, which plays its role in conducting the census by coordinating between the Government of India, the Census Directorate, and various departments of the state government.
At the beginning of the meeting, Director of Census Operations Kartikeya Goyal gave a detailed presentation through a PowerPoint presentation on the outline of Census 2027, preliminary preparations, digital roadmap, and organizational structure.
The Census Director also informed that India’s Census 2027 will be the country’s first digital census, in which data will be collected through a mobile app and the entire process will be monitored and managed through a web portal. This time, the census will also include a provision for self-enumeration, through which ordinary citizens will be able to register their information themselves. The central government will make the necessary financial arrangements for the state government for Census 2027.
The Director of Census also informed the committee that this large-scale task of national importance will require approximately 63,000 enumerators and supervisors, in addition to other administrative personnel.
The Director also informed the committee that the pre-test for the first phase of the census was conducted in some selected villages of Kukdur tehsil in Kawardha district and Mahasamund tehsil in Mahasamund district, and in one ward of Raipur Municipal Corporation in Raipur district, from November 10 to November 30, 2025.
This pre-test was successfully completed with the cooperation of the state government and the concerned district administration. The experiences from the pre-test were also presented to the committee.
The first phase of Census 2027, which involves house listing and house enumeration, is proposed to be conducted over a 30-day period between April 1 and September 30, 2026.
Chief Secretary Vikas Sheel instructed the concerned departments to determine this 30-day period keeping in mind the studies of school children, the monsoon season, etc.
The second phase of Census 2027, which involves population enumeration, will be conducted simultaneously across the country in February 2027. In this regard, Chief Secretary Vikas Sheel instructed the School Education Department to prepare the academic calendar for the year 2026-27 keeping this second phase of the census in mind.
All concerned departments were also instructed to coordinate with each other and work with the Census Directorate to prepare a detailed action plan so that the Census 2027 work in Chhattisgarh can be completed smoothly.
The Chief Secretary appreciated the self-enumeration system, calling it a citizen-friendly and convenient step. The Chief Secretary also instructed all departments to nominate a nodal officer in their respective departments to coordinate the Census 2027 work.
Vikas Sheel stated that the 2027 census is the cornerstone of the state’s future policies, plans, and resource allocation. He expressed his expectation that all departments would complete this nationally important task in a mission-oriented manner, with shared responsibility and coordinated efforts.
He also appealed to the public to actively cooperate in both the self-enumeration and direct enumeration processes, so that the 2027 census in Chhattisgarh state can be successfully completed in a completely accurate, transparent, and timely manner.
