Guwahati, May 26: Assam on May 25 conducted a state-level conference of Principal Census Officers (PCOs) in Guwahati to assess preparations for Census 2027, which is set to become India’s first fully digital census exercise.
The conference took place at the Assam Administrative Staff College and was chaired by Ravi Kota. Discussions during the meeting focused primarily on preparations for the first stage of the census process, namely the Houselisting and Housing Census (HLO).
The event was organised by the General Administration Department of the Assam government in collaboration with the Directorate of Census Operations, Assam, functioning under the Office of the Registrar General and Census Commissioner under the Ministry of Home Affairs.
Several senior officials participated in the programme, including Mritunjay Kumar Narayan, district commissioners, municipal commissioners, principal census officers and officials from the Directorate of Census Operations.
Officials stated that Census 2027 would be conducted in two stages. The first stage involving Houselisting and Housing Census has been proposed between April 1 and September 30, 2026. The second phase, which includes population enumeration and updating of the National Population Register, is scheduled between February 9 and February 28, 2027.
For Assam, the census exercise has been proposed to be carried out in phases between August 21 and September 30, 2026. Authorities also said that a self-enumeration facility through an official digital platform would be introduced during the process.
Addressing the gathering, Ravi Kota stressed the need for strong administrative coordination, public participation and timely planning to ensure smooth implementation of the census exercise across the state.
Later speaking to reporters, Ajay Tiwari, Chief Principal Census Officer of Assam, said discussions at the conference largely focused on training modules, planning mechanisms and coordination among district authorities for the upcoming operations.
Registrar General and Census Commissioner Mritunjay Kumar Narayan also underlined the significance of the initial phase of the census process.
Officials further said Census 2027 would require extensive digital infrastructure, large-scale training for field personnel and awareness initiatives across Assam to ensure effective implementation of the nationwide exercise.
