J&K’s digital Census model to aid Caribbean nation’s 2027 count
Jammu | Nov, 14: IAS officer Amit Sharma has been nominated by the Government of India to lead a United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA)-coordinated technical assistance mission to Trinidad and Tobago in the last week of November, officials said.
Serving as Chief Principal Census Officer (CPCO) and Director of Census Operations for Jammu, Kashmir, and Ladakh, Sharma was selected as a subject expert ahead of the Caribbean nation’s Census scheduled for March–April 2027, reports said. In Port of Spain, the Central Statistics Office (CSO), supported by UNFPA, will host technical sessions, field visits, and discussions.
The Indian delegation includes D. Helen Premakumari, Deputy Director General at the Directorate of Census Operations in Karnataka, alongside four officers from the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI). They will share best practices from India’s first paperless Census and explore replicating the digital model locally, sources said.
Sharma’s selection recognises J&K and Ladakh’s success in executing digital Census preparations across snowbound, hilly terrains and among transhumance populations. Thanking Registrar General and Census Commissioner Mritunjay Kumar Narayan, Sharma expressed confidence that the reciprocal mission—following an earlier visit by Trinidad and Tobago officials to India—would meaningfully strengthen preparations for the 2027 count, officials said.
