Digital Census-2027 Preparations Reviewed in J&K; CS Atal Dulloo Chairs High-Level Sensitisation Meeting

Jammu, Mar 9 (IPU): Chief Secretary Atal Dulloo, in the presence of Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India Mritunjay Kumar Narayan, on Monday chaired a high-level sensitisation session to review and strengthen preparations for the upcoming Census-2027, which will be conducted digitally for the first time across the country.

The meeting was attended by Administrative Secretaries, senior officers of the Union Territory administration, Divisional and District administration officials and representatives from various government departments.

Addressing the officers, the Chief Secretary stressed the need for coordinated and proactive preparations to ensure smooth conduct of the census operations. He said the meeting clearly defined the roles and responsibilities of different departments and urged all departments and field functionaries to extend full support to the census machinery so that the exercise is carried out in a systematic, transparent and efficient manner.

He also highlighted the importance of public awareness and outreach, saying that citizens should be encouraged to actively participate in the census process and provide accurate information. He noted that the success of the census depends on cooperation between the administration and the public to ensure credibility and completeness of the data collected during the UT-wide exercise.

Speaking on the occasion, Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India Mritunjay Kumar Narayan expressed satisfaction over the level of preparedness in Jammu and Kashmir. He said the discussions and briefings held during the session reflected that census operations in both phases would be completed diligently and within the prescribed timelines.

Highlighting the importance of the exercise, he said census data plays a crucial role in determining the share of states and Union Territories in Finance Commission allocations and various development programmes. He added that the census serves as a foundational dataset guiding policy planning and development initiatives for the next decade.

He urged officers and field staff to exercise utmost diligence while collecting information, stressing that reliable census data is essential for evidence-based planning and policy decisions. He also emphasised the need for rigorous training of field staff and proper understanding of digital tools to ensure smooth operations.

During the session, Director Census Operations for Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh Amit Sharma delivered a detailed presentation outlining the strategy, methodology, administrative arrangements and digital systems planned for conducting the census in the Union Territory.

He informed that Census-2027 will be conducted in two phases across the country. The first phase will involve House Listing Operations (HLO) followed by the second phase of Population Enumeration.

To manage the large-scale exercise, a structured training system has been planned with National Trainers and Master Trainers who will train 614 Field Trainers. These trainers will further train about 30,871 Enumerators and Supervisors across the Union Territory.

The field functionaries will undergo specialised three-day training programmes between May 7 and May 25, 2026 to equip them with the required skills before the start of fieldwork.

As per the plan, Phase-I (Houselisting and Housing Census) will begin with a 15-day self-enumeration window from May 17 to May 31, 2026, allowing citizens to submit their details digitally. This will be followed by 30 days of house-to-house enumeration throughout June 2026, focusing on housing conditions, household amenities and infrastructure.

Considering the unique climatic conditions of Jammu and Kashmir, Phase-II (Population Enumeration) will begin in September 2026 for snow-bound areas and February 2027 for non-snowbound regions. This phase will gather detailed demographic, socio-economic and cultural data of the population.

The government has also sanctioned an honorarium of ₹25,000 each for Enumerators and Supervisors, including ₹9,000 for the Houselisting phase and ₹16,000 for the Population Enumeration phase.

The Census Reference Date has been fixed as March 1, 2027 for most areas, while October 1, 2026 will serve as the reference date for snow-bound regions.

The upcoming census will capture detailed information on housing conditions, household amenities, assets, demographic characteristics, language, literacy, education, economic activity, migration patterns and other socio-economic indicators, which will guide policy formulation and development planning at national and local levels.

A key feature of Census-2027 will be digital data collection through a dedicated mobile application available on both Android and iOS platforms, supporting multiple languages including Hindi, English and Urdu in Jammu and Kashmir.

The application will also work in offline mode, enabling enumerators to collect data in areas with limited internet connectivity, while internet access will only be required for device registration and uploading of collected data.

Officials said the census will cover 20 districts, 207 tehsils, 6,462 villages and 78 towns, besides two Municipal Corporations in Jammu and Kashmir.

Only enumerators registered on the Census Management and Monitoring System (CMMS) will be authorised to collect and upload data, which will later be verified by supervisors through the system to ensure transparency, accuracy and authenticity of the information collected during the enumeration process.(IPU)