Overview
- The Home Ministry said Sunday that Phase I field work has begun in Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Jharkhand, Meghalaya and Delhi’s MCD areas, with enumerators visiting homes over the next month.
- Self-enumeration opened May 17–31 in Gujarat, Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh and Puducherry, while Uttar Pradesh keeps its portal open until May 21 before local field checks begin.
- Enumerators use a mobile Houselisting app to record answers to 33 questions on homes, amenities and assets, and households that completed the online form are asked to share their 11‑digit Self-Enumeration ID for quick verification.
- Officials report more than 1.44 crore households have already self-enumerated across 25 states and UTs, with large deployments on the ground such as about 76,000 personnel in Jharkhand and over 50,000 enumerators across Delhi’s MCD wards.
- Authorities emphasize legal safeguards under the Census Act, note that staff will not ask for OTPs or external links, and instruct residences to allow entry, with helplines available for reporting access or safety issues.