A booklet of Population Census 2027. Photo R V Moorthy / The Hindu | Photo Credit: MOORTHY RV

Director of Census Operations in Telangana, Bharati Hollikeri, on Thursday said Census 2027 would be held in digital mode in contrast to the paper-based exercise conducted until 2011.

The first phase of the exercise, involving house listing and housing census, would be conducted from May 11 to June 9, while the second phase would be taken up in February 2027, she said.

As many as 88,000 personnel, including enumerators and supervisors, would be involved in the census in Telangana, though about 93,000 to 94,000 employees are being trained for the mammoth exercise.

"It has a lot of uniqueness when compared to the previous censuses. When you talk about technology adoption, for the first time, we are going to enumerate in digital mode. Until the 2011 census, enumeration was paper-based," she told PTI here.

She said various digital tools have now been developed, including the Census Management Monitoring System (CMMS), Self-Enumeration Portal and HLO app, which enumerators will use to capture data from every household.

On the measures to ensure data protection, she said that as soon as the data is uploaded, it will vanish from the enumerators' devices and be stored in central servers, making it inaccessible to anyone.

The census is conducted under Census Act, 1948, and the legislation is particular about maintaining confidentiality and data protection.

"Data protection and confidentiality are the hallmark of census in India," she said.

Asked about the caste census to be conducted as part of the census, she said the name and caste of the head of the household (SC, ST and others) would be collected in the first phase, while caste details of other members would be collected in the second phase.

Regarding the number of questions to be asked during the census, she said the Centre has already notified the schedule for the first phase, and 33 questions, which are uniform throughout the country, would be asked.

Hollikeri said citizens have been given the opportunity to self-enumerate in Census 2027.

The self-enumeration portal would be available for people of Telangana from April 16 to May 10. The portal is a very user-friendly digital tool.

Enumerators would confirm the data filled by the respondent during their house visits.

The official said a scenario where any household or area is not covered is not foreseen as every administrative unit is further divided to ensure that none of the buildings or households are uncovered. Further, regular monitoring also takes place.

Citizens can also reach out to the helpline, which will be announced soon, if any household was missed.

Published on April 9, 2026