First phase of Census to begin in April

In Telangana, the self-enumeration period is April 26–May 10, 2026, followed by the House Listing and Housing Census from May 11–June 9, 2026

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The first phase of Census 2027, House Listing Operations, will begin in Delhi on April 16 during which information pertaining to all structures, houses, and households will be collected, Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India Mrityunjay Kumar Narayan said Monday.

The exercise will run in two 30-day windows-from April 16 to May 15 for areas under NDMC and Delhi Cantonment, and for areas under MCD from May 16 to June 15 outlined in the schedule, he said at a press conference.

The self-enumeration for the NDMC and Delhi Cantonment areas will begin on April 1, and for the MCD, from May 1 to May 15.

The citizens will have the option of self-enumeration, where they visit the self-enumeration website, register, and provide all the information, after which a 16-digit code will be generated, Narayan said.

"This code shall be shared with the enumerator when he visits the household, where he would verify the information shared by an individual digitally in self-enumeration. The citizens can make any necessary corrections at this stage. Once verified, the information shall be submitted," he said.

The Census 2027 is being conducted in two phases -- the first stage is known as house listing and housing census, and the second stage is the population census.

In a first, the exercise will be completely digital, with enumerators using a special mobile application created for the purpose on their phones to collect the information.

The citizens will be posed with 33 questions during the exercise regarding basic facilities in their houses, information about the head of the household, such as the name and sex, and the ownership status.

According to the gazette notification issued on January 22, the enumerators would also ask about the number of dwelling rooms exclusively in possession of the household and the number of married couple(s) living there, the main source of drinking water, main source of lighting, access to and type of latrine, wastewater outlet, availability of bathing facility, availability of kitchen and LPG and PNG connection and the main fuel used for cooking.

The enumerators will also collect information about radio and transistor, television set, access to internet, gadgets like laptops, computers, telephones, mobile phones, and smartphones, type of vehicle, the main cereal consumed in the household, and mobile numbers for census-related communication, it had said.

An officer who intentionally puts "any offensive or improper question" during the Census 2027 will face a punishment with imprisonment which may extend to three years upon conviction.