Census data to be ready within nine months? Govt bets on tech to speed up 2027 exercise
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The upcoming Census 2027 could deliver its final population figures by the end of the same year, a significant improvement over previous exercises, thanks to a digital-first approach that will use mobile apps for data collection and intelligent systems for real-time processing.Sources in the government said the time taken to publish detailed population data — including gender-wise breakups at national, state, district and taluk levels — may be compressed to just nine months from the date of enumeration. In the 2011 Census, this process had stretched over nearly two years, according to a ToI report. The government has set March 1, 2027, as the reference date for the next Census. Originally scheduled for 2020, the decadal count was delayed due to the Covid-19 pandemic.The 2027 Census will be conducted in two parts — a house-listing phase in 2026, followed by population enumeration in February 2027. For the first time, enumerators will be equipped with a mobile application to capture data digitally, replacing the bulky paper forms of the past.
Available in 16 languages, including Hindi, English and 14 regional options, the app is designed to be simple to use for both officials and the public. Citizens will also have the option of self-enumeration, the sources said.
The app-based format will offer dropdown menus, auto-fetching of house records, and the ability to edit entries on the spot — all of which are expected to speed up data collection and reduce manual errors.With most of the responses pre-coded and digitised, the need for manual compilation of summaries or abstracts will be eliminated. The mobile application will feed directly into back-end systems using Intelligent Character Recognition (ICR) tools, which will help process even semi-structured information swiftly.For questions requiring descriptive or non-numeric responses, officials have prepared a code directory to guide enumerators in selecting standardised entries, further cutting down processing time.
To support the massive digital operation, the Office of the Registrar General of India has also built a Census Management and Monitoring System (CMMS) portal, which will help track and coordinate progress across all stages. If the process unfolds as planned, this will be the fastest turnaround yet for a Census in India — and the most technologically advanced.
(With inputs from ToI)
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