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Meghalaya has emerged as one of the first northeastern states where field operations under Phase I of Census 2027 have officially begun, marking a major step in the Centre’s push towards a fully digital census exercise across the country.

The Houselisting and Housing Census (HLO) operations have commenced in Meghalaya along with Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Jharkhand and the Municipal Corporation of Delhi area, according to the Ministry of Home Affairs. The exercise forms part of the wider nationwide Census 2027 process, which is being conducted using digital tools for the first time while continuing the traditional door-to-door survey method.

Arunachal Pradesh is also among the states where house-to-house houselisting operations by enumerators are currently underway. Officials said enumerators are visiting households with a dedicated mobile application to digitally collect information related to housing conditions, family details, amenities and household assets.

The northeastern region has already seen progress in the initial phase of the exercise. Mizoram and Sikkim completed their houselisting and housing census operations conducted between April 16 and May 15. The Centre views the early participation of northeastern states as significant, particularly in ensuring coverage of remote and geographically difficult areas.

Authorities said the census process is designed to improve “evidence-based planning and implementation of welfare and development programmes”. During field visits, enumerators are collecting responses through a structured questionnaire containing 33 notified questions.

The Ministry of Home Affairs stated that more than 1.44 crore households across 25 states and Union Territories have already completed self-enumeration through the official portal. The self-enumeration facility, introduced for the first time in census operations, is being described as a major move towards digitisation.

Self-enumeration is currently active in Gujarat, Jammu & Kashmir, Ladakh and Puducherry till May 31, while Uttar Pradesh residents can avail the facility till May 21. Field operations in these regions will follow after the online process concludes.

Officials said residents who complete self-enumeration should keep their generated Self-Enumeration ID ready and share it with enumerators during house visits to complete the process. Households that do not opt for online submission will be covered through physical verification.

The government has also stressed that all information collected under the Census Act, 1948 “remains strictly confidential” and will be used only for statistical and development purposes.

With several northeastern states either completing or actively participating in the first phase, officials believe the region could play a key role in testing the efficiency of the new digital census model before the nationwide exercise expands further.