Fix schedule for house listing and population census ahead of upcoming examinations: CS Shri Jain

Chief Secretary Shri Anurag Jain has directed all department heads to ensure that any proposed changes in administrative units are completed by December 31, 2025, in view of the upcoming Census 2027. The Chief Secretary issued these instructions during the State-Level Census Coordination Committee (SLCCC) meeting held at the Mantralaya on Wednesday.

The house listing and housing enumeration for the first phase of Census 2027 will be conducted over a 30-day period between April 1 and September 30, 2026. Shri Jain directed departments to finalise the 30-day window by considering school examination schedules, the monsoon season, and other relevant factors.

The second phase, involving the population enumeration, will be conducted simultaneously across the country in February 2027. Chief Secretary Shri Jain directed the School Education Department to prepare the 2026–27 academic calendars in alignment with this schedule and ensure that examination dates are planned to avoid any inconvenience to students. He also instructed concerned departments to coordinate among themselves to prepare a comprehensive plan for human resource mobilisation so that census activities can be carried out smoothly and efficiently.

CS Shri Jain highlighted that the upcoming census will be digital for the first time.  He instructed that all concerned personnel should be trained in time to ensure smooth digital data collection. He appreciated the introduction of the Self-Enumeration facility, which will allow citizens to provide their own data. The Chief Secretary also directed all departments to appoint a Nodal Officer to coordinate census-related activities within their respective departments. The Public Relations Department was instructed to conduct extensive information and awareness campaigns among the public to clear misconceptions and spread awareness about the census process.

CS Shri Jain emphasised that it is essential to inform the citizens that the 2027 Census will be India’s first digital census, where data will be collected through mobile applications and managed and monitored via a web portal. He stated that public communication should highlight that, as per Section 15 of the Census Act, personal information collected during the census is strictly confidential and cannot be used as evidence in any legal proceedings.

This first meeting of the State-Level Census Coordination Committee (SLCCC) was attended by Additional Chief Secretaries of the Home, General Administration, and Panchayat & Rural Development Departments; Commissioner, Urban Development and Housing; Secretary, Home Department and State Nodal Officer (Census); Director, Directorate of Census Operations, Madhya Pradesh; State Informatics Officer, NIC; and other senior officials.

Additional Chief Secretary (Home) Shri Shiv Shekhar Shukla informed that the Home Department is the nodal department for the census in Madhya Pradesh. It will coordinate between the Government of India, the Directorate of Census Operations, and various state departments to ensure the effective implementation of census activities.

At the outset, the Director, Directorate of Census Operations, made a detailed presentation on the framework, preliminary preparations, digital roadmap, and organisational structure for Census 2027. He informed that citizens will be able to participate in the process through the Self-Enumeration facility, directly allowing them to enter their information digitally.

According to the Census Director, about 1.75 lakh enumerators and supervisors, along with other administrative personnel, will be required to conduct this nationwide exercise of great national importance. It was also informed that pre-test operations were successfully conducted in Ratlam tehsil (Ratlam district), Kurai tehsil (Seoni district), and selected wards of the Gwalior Municipal Corporation in November 2025. The pre-tests were completed successfully with the support of the state government and the concerned district administrations.