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India Begins First Fully Digital Census With Short Online Self‑Enumeration Windows

Officials say the brief online phase is designed to speed household data capture for policy and welfare planning through centrally held encrypted records.

Overview

  • Self‑enumeration opened in West Bengal on August 1 and in Assam on August 2, each with a 15‑day online window before house‑listing teams begin door‑to‑door verification.
  • Households that complete the online form receive an 11‑digit Self‑Enumeration ID that must be saved and shown to enumerators when officials visit to verify entries.
  • The houselisting questionnaire asks 33–34 items about homes and amenities and will record separate households within a single residence, effectively counting distinct 'kitchens' or family units.
  • States have mobilised large field forces and outreach: Tamil Nadu deployed more than 115,000 enumerators and about 19,000 supervisors, local authorities are running camps and incentives, and Tripura reported under 10% online uptake prompting intensified door‑to‑door coverage.
  • Census authorities say individual records are protected under the Census Act, 1948 and stored on central servers with encryption, and that the current houselisting phase will feed into a full population enumeration scheduled for February 2027.