By Aarit Gupta
The Indian government has started early preparations for the country’s next population census, which is planned for 2027. Union Home Minister Amit Shah recently introduced digital tools and mascots that will be used for the exercise, signalling the beginning of the preparations for what is expected to be India’s first fully digital census.
The census is usually conducted once every ten years and is one of the biggest administrative exercises in the country. The last census took place in 2011 which was long ago as the next round which was scheduled for 2021 was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Officials are now planning to carry out the upcoming census with the help of digital technology.
Instead of filling out paper forms, field workers are expected to collect information using mobile devices or digital applications. According to officials, this method could make the process quicker and reduce mistakes that sometimes occur in manual data entry.
The census will be conducted under the supervision of the Office of the Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India, which is responsible for managing the nationwide survey. The organisation oversees the training of census staff and the overall collection of population data across the country.
During the census, information is collected about population size, housing conditions, literacy levels, employment and migration patterns. Governments at both the central and state levels use this data while planning policies, welfare programmes and infrastructure development.
Officials involved in the process say that moving to a digital system could help speed up data collection and processing. Training field workers have also been trained to use the new technology will be an important part of the preparations.
Remaining details regarding the schedule and rollout of the census are scheduled to be announced later as preparations continue for the nationwide exercise after a long time.