Shillong, May 17: Meghalaya has become one of the first states in the Northeast to officially launch field operations under Phase I of Census 2027, marking an important step in the Centre’s move towards conducting India’s first fully digital census exercise.
According to the Ministry of Home Affairs, Houselisting and Housing Census (HLO) operations have begun in Meghalaya alongside Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Jharkhand and the Municipal Corporation of Delhi area. The exercise forms part of the larger Census 2027 programme, which combines traditional door-to-door surveys with digital technology.
Officials said Arunachal Pradesh is also among the states where house-to-house houselisting work is currently underway. Enumerators have been visiting households using dedicated mobile applications to digitally record information related to housing conditions, family details, household assets and available amenities.
The northeastern region has already witnessed progress during the initial phase of the exercise. Mizoram and Sikkim completed their houselisting and housing census operations between April 16 and May 15. Officials said the participation of northeastern states is significant because of the challenges involved in reaching remote and geographically difficult areas.
Authorities stated that the census process aims to strengthen evidence-based planning and improve implementation of welfare and development schemes. During field visits, enumerators are collecting information through a structured questionnaire containing 33 notified questions.
The Ministry of Home Affairs said more than 1.44 crore households across 25 states and Union Territories have already completed self-enumeration through the official digital platform. Introduced for the first time in census operations, the online self-enumeration system is being seen as a major shift towards digitisation.
The self-enumeration facility remains available in Gujarat, Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh and Puducherry until May 31, while residents of Uttar Pradesh can access the service until May 21. Physical field operations in these regions will begin after the online process concludes.
Officials said households that complete self-enumeration should retain their Self-Enumeration ID and provide it to field staff during house visits for verification and completion of the process. Those who do not use the online option will be covered through door-to-door enumeration.
The government has also reiterated that all information collected under the Census Act, 1948, will remain confidential and will be used solely for statistical and developmental purposes.
With several northeastern states either completing or actively participating in the first phase, officials believe the region could play an important role in assessing the effectiveness of the new digital census model before the exercise expands across the country.
