Country’s 16th Census to Begin April 1 with Satellite Mapping, Mobile Enumeration and Self-Enumeration Portal
BuzzBytes
New Delhi, March 5:
Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Thursday soft-launched four major digital platforms that will power India’s first fully digital Census, with the initial phase scheduled to begin on April 1.
The Home Minister also unveiled the mascots for Census-2027 — Pragati (female) and Vikas (male) — which symbolise equal participation of women and men in building a developed India by 2047.
According to a government statement, the mascots will help communicate the objectives, information and key messages of the Census in a citizen-friendly manner across different sections of society.
The four digital platforms launched by Shah include the Houselisting Block Creator (HLBC) web application, the HLO mobile application, a Self-Enumeration (SE) portal, and the Census Management and Monitoring System (CMMS), which will function as the central digital backbone for the nationwide exercise.
The platforms have been developed by the Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC) to facilitate enumeration operations across the country.
The HLBC web application will allow officials to digitally map houselisting blocks using satellite imagery, ensuring standardised geographic coverage across India.
Another key component is the HLO mobile application, a secure offline mobile app designed for enumerators to collect and upload houselisting data using handheld devices, replacing traditional paperwork.
“Only enumerators registered on the CMMS portal can access the application. The app enables direct field-to-server data transmission, eliminating traditional paperwork,” the government statement said.
The application will operate on registered mobile numbers and is compatible with both Android and iOS platforms, with support for 16 regional languages.
For the first time, citizens will also be able to participate through a Self-Enumeration portal, allowing households to submit their information online before field operations begin.
“The SE portal is a secure web-based facility that allows eligible respondents within a household to submit their household information online before field operations,” the statement said.
After submission, a unique Self-Enumeration ID will be generated and shared with enumerators, who will verify the information during field visits.
The self-enumeration option will be available for a 15-day period prior to the 30-day houselisting and housing census phase.
At the centre of the operation will be the CMMS, a web-based platform designed to manage, execute and monitor all census-related activities in real time across administrative levels.
Through the integrated system, officials at sub-district, district and state levels will be able to track enumeration progress, monitor field performance and review operational readiness through a central dashboard.
The digital architecture will support nearly 3.2 million field functionaries — including enumerators and supervisors — who will collect detailed demographic, social and economic data from hundreds of millions of households using handheld devices.
The data will be transmitted, aggregated and validated through the CMMS system, significantly reducing the time required for data compilation and error correction.
The Census exercise, estimated to cost ₹11,718 crore, will mark the country’s 16th national population count and will include caste enumeration, besides offering the option of self-enumeration for the first time.
Originally scheduled for 2021, the decennial Census was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The nationwide exercise will be conducted in two phases — the houselisting and housing census from April to September 2026, followed by population enumeration in February 2027.
The Central government had formally notified its intent to conduct Census-2027 through a gazette notification issued on June 16, 2025, initiating the official census process.
