Overview
- Self-enumeration opened on August 1 in several states and attracted thousands of submissions on day one as officials ran outreach camps and helped residents complete forms.
- Residents who submit online receive an 11-digit Self‑Enumeration ID that they must keep for later verification, and officials say no supporting documents are required during online entry or enumerator visits.
- The first-phase form contains about 33 questions on housing, amenities and assets and explicitly records separate households within the same dwelling, a change officials describe as counting distinct 'kitchens'.
- State and district authorities have deployed large enumerator and supervisor teams — Tamil Nadu reported more than 115,000 enumerators and 19,000 supervisors — and local drives include school programmes, cash prizes and free 'Census Free Rides' to boost participation.
- Door-to-door houselisting and verification is scheduled to begin around August 16, with full population enumeration planned for February 2027, and officials stress legal confidentiality, encryption and use of the data only for statistical planning.