India Prepares For First Digital Census 2027: Pre-Test In October-November To Assess Effectiveness of Entire Exercise

The Registrar General and Census Commissioner has informed the State Directorates of Census Operations (DCOs) that the pre-test for the 2027 Population Census will be conducted in October and November this year, reported The Hindu.

The test will assess data collection methods, logistics, training, digital tools, and field challenges before the nationwide exercise.

The 2027 Census will take place in two phases — Houselisting and Housing Schedule (HLO), and Population Enumeration — between 1 April 2026 and 28 February 2027.

It will be India's first totally digitised census, as well as the first caste enumeration after independence.

The test will evaluate the proposed questions, data collection methodologies, training effectiveness, logistics, printing processes, and data quality assessment and identify potential field issues

For the first time, enumerators will use a mobile app to collect data.

The trial will also test self-enumeration, digital mapping, and a web-based portal for real-time monitoring.

Unlike the 2019 pre-test for the planned 2021 Census, which included both phases and National Population Register (NPR) queries, this year’s pre-test will only cover questions about the first phase and not the second population enumeration phase where caste is to be tabulated.

The 2021 Census, originally scheduled but delayed due to COVID-19, will now conclude in 2027.

Earlier, in 2019, the pre-test covered 26 lakh people in 76 districts across 36 States and UTs, engaging 6,000 enumerators and 1,100 supervisors.

On 29 July, the Union Government indicated in the Lok Sabha that no decision had been made to revise the NPR during the next Population Census 2027 operation.

The Registrar General had earlier also directed states to finalise modifications to tehsil and district boundaries by 31 December 2025.

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