Officials to keep track of census data collection real time

Field operations during the upcoming first-ever digital Census 2027 will be monitored in real-time by senior officials through a portal to “monitor progress, identify gaps or delays and ensure timely completion of activities as per stipulated timelines,” the Registrar General and Commissioner of Census of India (RG&CCI) informed the States.

Mritunjay Kumar Narayan of RG&CCI said around 32 lakh field officers will be deployed to carry out “mission of national importance covering the entire country within a stipulated time frame”.

He said that to effectively manage and monitor various census-related activities, a dedicated web-based portal – Census Management and Monitoring System (CMMS) – has been developed.

The first phase of the census is the house listing process, where 33 questions will be asked about housing conditions and amenities. It is scheduled from April 1 to September 30 in all States and Union Territories.

The second stage is the census, where demographic, socio-economic, cultural and caste details will be collected. It will be held in February 2027.

In the communication with states, it was stated that digital technology will be used extensively to improve the quality, efficiency and timeliness of data collection and distribution in the upcoming 2027 Census. “Data will be collected digitally, which will be an important and transformative step towards the modernization of the census process,” the statement said.

CMMS will facilitate end-to-end management of all census operations, including creation of users at various levels, management of training modules, creation of household listing blocks (HLBs) and audit circles, creation of appointment letters and ID cards of enumerators and auditors, and near real-time monitoring of field operations.

Additionally, the Houselisting Block Creator (HLBC) Web Mapping Application has been developed as an integrated component of the CMMS to facilitate geotagging and demarcating HLBs. Each HLB is expected to accommodate approximately 700-800 people.

For the first time in census studies, “study maps” featuring the latest available satellite imagery will be created via the HLBC App to ensure clear identification of settlements and settlements.

RG&CCI said: “The village locations (points) in some States where proper and accurate village/town boundaries are not available like North Eastern States, Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh, Chhattisgarh etc. have been updated using various geographical data sources such as Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY) and Bharat Maps (NIC) which are publicly available.”

Enumerators will use their personal phones to collect data on the App created for the HLO phase.