India's Census 2027 is set to revolutionise data collection and governance through a fully digital and paperless approach, leveraging technology for accuracy and efficiency.
Jammu and Kashmir Chief Secretary Atal Dulloo on Friday said the Census 2027 will be a "national digital transformation mission" that will lay the foundation for a 'Viksit Bharat' and enable evidence-based policy planning, asserting that India is at a crucial "data inflection point".
Addressing the Census 2027 Summit at Abhinav Theatre here, Dulloo said the exercise will go beyond routine enumeration to become a cornerstone for data-driven governance.
The summit was attended by senior administrators, development partners and policy experts who deliberated on the roadmap, preparedness and significance of Census 2027, the country's first fully digital and paperless census exercise, an official spokesman said.
Delivering the keynote address, the chief secretary said India is entering a new era of governance driven by technology and real-time insights. Contrasting it with the manual and time-consuming 2011 census, he highlighted the shift to a technology-first, citizen-centric framework using mobile-based enumeration, artificial intelligence and cloud technology to ensure accuracy, transparency and speed.
He said data will be the "key driver and fuel" of economies in the AI-driven future, adding that India's vast demographic diversity offers a strategic advantage in building globally competitive data systems.
Dulloo also underlined that integration of trusted national datasets with the JAM trinity -- 'Jan Dhan' (human resource), Aadhaar and Mobile -- has enabled targeted delivery of benefits, significantly reducing leakages.
He said the evolving data ecosystem will allow micro-level scientific planning for urban and rural areas, strengthening health, education and employment infrastructure tailored to local needs.
The chief secretary directed deputy commissioners and district administrations to ensure seamless execution at grassroots level, including completion of training for census officers and enumerators. He said self-enumeration will begin on May 17, followed by house-to-house fieldwork from June 1, 2026.
Highlighting the importance of census data, he said it plays a crucial role in determining financial allocations to states and Union territories and shaping development policies for the next decade.
Earlier, Chief Principal Census Officer Amit Sharma outlined the two-phase structure of Census 2027. The first phase will include house listing and housing census with a self-enumeration period from May 17 to May 31, followed by fieldwork till June 30, 2026.
The second phase -- population enumeration -- will begin in September 2026 for snow-bound areas and in February 2027 for non-snowbound regions, he said.
Sharma said the exercise will be fully paperless, with enumerators using a dedicated mobile app, while citizens can opt for self-enumeration through a secure multilingual web portal. A Census Management and Monitoring System will enable near real-time tracking of field operations, he added.
Speaking on the occasion, Andrea M Wojnar, Representative for United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) India, said digital and self-enumeration-based census practices are being adopted globally and expressed confidence in India's preparedness.
She stressed that an accurate and inclusive census is essential to ensure no section of society is left out of welfare schemes and policy decisions, calling it fundamental to equitable and evidence-based governance.