New Delhi: The pre-test for the first phase of Census 2027 will be conducted from November 10 to November 30 this year, the Registrar General of India (RGI) announced.
“In exercise of the powers conferred by section 17A of the Census Act, the Central government hereby extends the provisions of the said Act for the conduct of pre-test of the first phase of Census of India, 2027. The pre-test of the first phase of the Census of India, 2027 that is House listing and Housing Census in selected sample areas shall be conducted from 10 November, 2025 to 30 November, 2025 in all States and Union territories,” RGI said in a notification issued on e-gazette on Thursday.
“There shall also be an option for self-enumeration from November 1, 2025 to November 7, 2025,” the notification added.
The pre-test process will serve as a trial for testing and refining all aspects of the Census exercise.
The headcount exercise is conducted in two phases.
In phase 1, housing listing operation (HLO), housing conditions, assets and amenities of each household will be collected. And in phase 2, which is population enumeration (PE), data on demographic, socio-economic, cultural and other details of every person in each household will be collected.
The data collection process for the census, which will include caste enumeration, will be completed by March 1, 2027. However, the entire exercise to collate the data and publish it will take two to three years, officials said.
The 16th Census will involve around 3.4 million enumerators and supervisors. Significantly, it will be conducted through digital means using mobile applications and provision of self-enumeration would also be made available to the people, the Ministry of Home Affairs has said.
The Census was to be originally conducted in 2021, but was delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic which caused logistical challenges and public health concerns.
A pre-test for Census 2021 was conducted in 2019 in all 36 States and UTs across 76 districts in 90 areas (54 rural and 36 urban), covering a population of 26 lakh. Around 6,000 enumerators and 1,100 supervisors from respective states/UTs were involved in data collection and supervision.
