5 March 2026·PIB

Union Home Minister and Minister of Cooperation, Shri Amit Shah will address 57th Raising Day ceremony of CISF as the Chief Guest in Mundali, Odisha tomorrow

In this note

1. At a Glance

Census-2027 is India's 16th decennial Census and the first-ever digital Census, with Self-Enumeration offered for the first time [1][2].
Mascots "Pragati" (female) and "Vikas" (male) symbolise equal women–men participation in the Viksit Bharat @2047 vision [1].
Soft-launched by Union Home & Cooperation Minister Shri Amit Shah in New Delhi on 5 March 2026 [1].
For UPSC: maps to Polity, Governance, Society, Statistical System — and the long-pending caste enumeration decision.

5 Mar 2026: HM Amit Shah soft-launched digital tools + mascots Pragati & Vikas for Census-2027 [1].
Cabinet has approved the scheme for Conduct of Census of India 2027 including caste enumeration [3][4].
Phase-I (Houselisting & Housing Census) field operations began April 2026 in States/UTs like A&N, Goa, Karnataka, Lakshadweep, Mizoram, Odisha, Sikkim, NDMC area [5].

First synchronous Census: 1881 under British India; conducted decennially since.
Last completed Census: 2011 (15th). Census 2021 postponed owing to COVID-19.
Cabinet approval for Census-2027 scheme (2025) included caste columns [3].
2026: Mascots & digital tools launched (5 Mar) [1]; HLO phase rolled out from April 2026 [5].

Conducting authority: Office of the Registrar General & Census Commissioner of India (RGI), under Ministry of Home Affairs [2][6].
Legal basis: Census Act, 1948 & Census Rules, 1990.
Constitutional anchor: Entry 69, Union List, Seventh Schedule.
Two phases [2][4]:
Phase-I — Houselisting & Housing Census (HLO): Apr–Sep 2026; 30-day window per State/UT.
Phase-II — Population Enumeration (PE): February 2027.
Reference Date: 00:00 hrs of 1 March 2027; for Ladakh & snow-bound areas of J&K, HP, Uttarakhand → 00:00 hrs of 1 October 2026 [2].
Self-Enumeration: secure web-based portal + mobile app, 16 languages incl. Hindi & English, 15-day window before door-to-door HLO [2][6].
Workforce: >30 lakh (3 million+) enumerators, supervisors and officials [1][6].
Digital backbone: platforms developed by C-DAC (MeitY) [6].
Mascots: Pragati (female enumerator) & Vikas (male enumerator) [1].

Administrative
First Census using handheld digital devices + mobile app, reducing manual schedules [2].
30 lakh+ field force coordinated by RGI; States set 30-day HLO window per convenience [2].
Social
Mascot gender pairing (Pragati–Vikas) signals gender-equal participation narrative [1].
Inclusion of caste enumeration for the first time since 1931 (Cabinet-approved) [3].
Scientific / Technological
C-DAC-built Self-Enumeration portal and mobile app in 16 languages [6].
End-to-end digital chain: data capture → transmission → tabulation.
Legal / Constitutional
Governed by Census Act, 1948; respondent's particulars are confidential (Sec. 15 — not admissible in evidence).
Entry 69, Union List assigns Census to the Union.
Governance / Ethical
Self-Enumeration raises data security, privacy, digital divide concerns — to be balanced with DPDP Act, 2023.
Caste data accuracy and use in policy/affirmative action — politically salient.

2025: Union Cabinet approves Census 2027 scheme with caste enumeration [3].
5 Mar 2026: Amit Shah soft-launches digital tools + mascots Pragati & Vikas in New Delhi [1].
April 2026: HLO field operations begin in 8 States/UTs incl. Karnataka, Odisha, Goa, Sikkim, Mizoram, A&N, Lakshadweep, NDMC/Delhi Cantt [5].
2026: RGI holds press conference detailing two-phase, digital-first design [4].

Census-2027 is India's 16th Census and first digital Census [2].
Conducted by Office of the RGI under MHA, not MoSPI [6].
Statutory basis: Census Act, 1948; Constitutional entry: Union List Entry 69 [static].
Reference Date: 1 March 2027 (snow-bound areas: 1 October 2026) [2].
Phase-I = HLO (Apr–Sep 2026); Phase-II = PE (Feb 2027) [2].
Self-Enumeration available in 16 languages via web portal + mobile app [6].
15-day Self-Enumeration window precedes 30-day door-to-door HLO [2].
Mascots: Pragati (female) and Vikas (male) [1].
Digital platform developed by C-DAC [6].
>30 lakh enumerators/supervisors/officials to be deployed [1].
Caste enumeration included for the first time since 1931 (Cabinet-approved) [3].
Soft-launch by Amit Shah, Union Minister of Home Affairs & Cooperation, on 5 March 2026, New Delhi [1].

GS-II — Governance: Role of statutory bodies (RGI); e-Governance; transparency vs privacy.
GS-II — Polity: Caste-based enumeration & social justice; centre-state coordination.
GS-I — Society: Demography, urbanisation, gender.
Possible question stems: 1. "Digital Census-2027 marks a paradigm shift in India's statistical architecture. Examine its opportunities and challenges." (GS-II) 2. "Discuss the rationale and implications of including caste enumeration in Census-2027." (GS-I/II) 3. "Evaluate Self-Enumeration as a tool of citizen-centric governance against concerns of data privacy and digital divide." (GS-II)

Census Act, 1948 — statutory framework.
National Population Register (NPR) — linked to HLO.
SECC 2011 — last caste-tagged exercise; methodology debates.
Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 — privacy of self-enumerated data.
C-DAC & MeitY — tech provider for Census platforms.
Delimitation Commission post-2027 — Census data triggers delimitation (Art. 82).
Women's Reservation Act, 2023 — operationalisation tied to Census + delimitation.
MoSPI vs RGI — institutional distinction in India's statistical system.

Wrong ministry: Census is under MHA (RGI), NOT MoSPI.
Reference Date confusion: It is 1 March 2027 (and 1 Oct 2026 for snow-bound areas), not 1 January.
Mascot mix-up: Pragati = female, Vikas = male (often swapped).
Self-Enumeration window: 15 days before HLO, not after; available in 16 languages (not 22 scheduled languages).
Caste enumeration ≠ SECC 2011: Census-2027's caste count is under the Census Act, 1948, unlike SECC which was an executive exercise.