India’s First Digital Census to Feature Self-Enumeration Portal for Citizens

India will conduct its first completely digital population census, and the new big thing: citizens will be able to list themselves through a special internet portal. The announcement by the Registrar General of India is a significant step towards the modernization of the country's census process and is likely to publish census data earlier than ever before.

Key Highlights of the New Census

Digital-First Strategy

First digital census: Enumerators will record data on mobile applications on Android and Apple handsets, allowing it to be more effective and speedy transmission to central servers.

Web portal for self-enumeration: Indian citizens can enter their census data on the web for the first time ever, reducing reliance on door-to-door enumerators and making it easier and more confidential.

Multiple languages: The portal and mobile apps will be made available in English, Hindi, and local languages for maximum reach.

Two-Phase Enumeration

Phase 1: Houselisting and Housing Census (HLO): From April 2026, covering housing condition, assets, and amenities.

Phase 2: Population Enumeration (PE): From February 1, 2027, gathering demographic, socio-economic, and cultural details of every individual.

Early Data Availability

Faster processing: Electronic collection and transmission of data will enable the government to release census data much earlier than the last few decades.

Policy influence: Data in time will be crucial in evaluating existing social sector programs, policy-making, and parliamentary demarcation.

Self-Enumeration: The Process

Safe access: Residents will authenticate by pre-filled information and a one-time password (OTP) sent on their registered mobile phone number.

Update and verify: Households can view, update, and validate their details online, such as entering new members of the household or marking members as having moved away or passed away.

Privacy and accuracy: Self-enumeration will be assumed to increase data privacy and accuracy, reducing surveyor bias and eliciting truthful responses, especially on sensitive topics like language and caste.

Data Security and Privacy

Strict protections: The census will adopt robust data protection practices at every stage—collection, transmission, and storage—to ensure citizens' information is safe.

Regulatory control: The Office of the Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India will oversee the process, ensuring adherence to relevant law and procedures.

Policy and Social Implications

Caste counting: The census will enumerate caste in detail for the first time after 1931, which can have implications both on reservations and social welfare schemes.

National Population Register (NPR): The self-enumeration website will also assist in the updation of the NPR, a precursor to the proposed National Register of Indian Citizens (NRIC).

Delimitation and representation: The most recent census data will inform the 2026 delimitation process, which has the potential to shape parliamentary seat totals.

Security of data: Strong cyber security is required to protect confidential personal data.

India's 2027 Census is a watershed moment in the country's demographic data collection, with technology as the promise for speed, accuracy, and inclusiveness. As the process gets underway, the efficiency of self-enumeration and online platforms will be closely monitored, with large implications for governance, policy, and social justice.