Terms data as key driver, the new fuel powering nation’s economic growth
JAMMU, APRIL 10: Highlighting that India is at a crucial “data inflection point,” Chief Secretary Atal Dulloo today stated that the upcoming Census 2027 is not merely an enumeration exercise but a National Digital Transformation Mission that will set the bedrock for a ‘Viksit Bharat’ and evidence-based policy planning.
The Chief Secretary made these remarks while speaking at the Census 2027 Summit held today at Abhinav Theatre, Jammu.
The summit was participated by the senior administrators, development partners and policy experts to deliberate upon the roadmap, preparedness and significance of Census of India 2027, the country’s first-ever fully digital and paperless census exercise.
The Summit was also attended by Amit Sharma, Chief Principal Census Officer and Director Census Operations, Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh; Andrea M. Wojnar, Resident Representative, UNFPA India; Praful Kumar Sigtia, Deputy Director General (Information Security), UIDAI and Rohit Kumar, Co-Chair (Policy Making) G20, as special dignitaries.
Delivering keynote address as the chief guest, the Chief Secretary observed that India is entering a new era of governance driven by technology and real-time insights. Contrasting the upcoming exercise with the manual, time-consuming 2011 census, he emphasised the paradigm shift towards a technology-first, citizen-centric framework utilising mobile-based enumeration, artificial intelligence and cloud technology to ensure accuracy, transparency and speed.
Speaking on the rapid global advancements in technology, the Chief Secretary stressed that data is going to be the key driver, oil and fuel of any nation’s economy in the AI-driven future. He noted that India’s vast demographic diversity provides a far richer dataset compared to Western nations, giving the country a strategic advantage in training AI systems and stepping up as a globally benchmarked data-driven nation.
Atal Dulloo also highlighted how the integration of trusted national datasets with the JAM Trinity (Jan Dhan, Aadhaar, Mobile) has enabled the Government to target the beneficiaries directly, reducing leakages from astronomical to negligible levels. He observed that moving away from older “one-size-fits-all” centralised planning, this dynamic data ecosystem will allow for micro-level scientific urban and rural planning, supporting health, education and employment infrastructures tailored to the unique strengths of individual villages and districts.
Underlining the immediate administrative tasks at hand, the Chief Secretary directed the Deputy Commissioners and district administrations to ensure seamless grassroots execution. He issued clear directives for immediate completion of training for all the Census officers and Enumerators, ensuring full readiness for the self-enumeration process beginning from May 17 and the subsequent house to house field work starting June 1, 2026. He further highlighted that census data plays a pivotal role in determining the financial share of States and Union Territories and guiding development initiatives for the next decade.
Earlier, delivering the welcome address, Chief Principal Census Officer Amit Sharma shed light on the two-phased structure of Census 2027. The first phase will cover House Listing and Housing Census (HLO), consisting of Self Enumeration Period from May 17 to May 31 and House to House Field Work from June 1 to June 30, 2026. The second phase shall focus on Population Enumeration (PE), which will commence in September 2026 for snow-bound areas and in February 2027 for the non-snowbound regions.
He emphasised that Census 2027 will be a fully paperless, technology-driven initiative. Enumerators will collect and submit data directly via a dedicated mobile app. However, self-enumeration will be the preferred method. A secure web portal, available in 16 languages, will allow citizens to submit their details online before the door-to-door surveys begin. Additionally, a new Census Management and Monitoring System (CMMS) will enable near real-time tracking of all field operations.
To ensure smooth execution, Amit Sharma noted that a structured training hierarchy is already in place, with comprehensive training for Enumerators and Supervisors currently underway across the region.
Speaking on the occasion, Andrea M. Wojnar, Resident Representative of UNFPA India, said that similar census practices anchored in digital technology and self-enumeration are being adopted across the world. She expressed confidence that Census 2027 will be a robust and comprehensive exercise in India as well.
Wojnar underscored the fundamental purpose of any census, emphasising that it is designed to ensure that no segment of society is left unaccounted for in welfare programmes and policy decisions. Accurate and inclusive enumeration, she stated, is foundational to evidence-based governance and equitable development.
Praful Kumar Sigtia, Deputy Director General (Information Security), UIDAI, drew parallels between Census 2027 and the colossal exercise of Aadhaar enrolment, highlighting the scale, complexity and technological sophistication common to both national exercises. He laid emphasis on the meaningful processing of data for practical purposes, acknowledging the critical importance of translating vast volumes of collected information into actionable insights.
Sigtia also touched upon the efficacy and security of data, stressing that robust compliance frameworks are in place to ensure the confidentiality and integrity of citizen data – frameworks that impart confidence to the data owners, namely the citizens of India.
Rohit Kumar, Co-Chair (Policy Making) G20, shed light on the monumental scale of the census exercise and its technical aspects. He elaborated on the global implications of the exercise for informed policy-making at both national and international level, underlining the significance of Census 2027 in the context of India’s evolving data governance landscape.
