All departments associated with Census-2027 must ensure that work is carried out according to the prescribed calendar and within the stipulated timeframe, with sensitivity and coordination, so that essential census data can be collected in accordance with the objectives of the Government of India. Chief Secretary Shri Ashok Barnwal made this statement while chairing a meeting of Madhya Pradesh State-Level Census Coordination Committee, constituted for Census of India, at the Mantralaya on Thursday. Census Commissioner Shri Sanjeev Shrivastava, along with Additional Chief Secretaries and heads of departments concerned, attended the meeting.
Describing this census as the country’s first digital census, Chief Secretary Shri Barnwal said that efforts should be made to enable as many citizens as possible to enter their information themselves through self-enumeration. He said a short training module should be developed and uploaded on iGOT for government employees. College students should be trained to fill out self-enumeration forms, and short videos explaining how to complete these forms should be uploaded on various digital and social media platforms and circulated among citizens. He also stressed the need to involve private sector and public sector undertakings in this initiative.
Chief Secretary Shri Barnwal directed that citizens be made aware of various phases of the census and that extensive publicity be undertaken through tableaux, rallies, Kalapathak groups, folk artists, social media, cinema halls, radio and television. He instructed that, in addition to approximately 2 lakh enumerators and supervisors required for this extensive exercise, other administrative personnel should also be arranged from government departments. He directed that Master Trainers arriving from districts on November 12 and 13 be trained with utmost seriousness. He also instructed that a state-level training programme and conference for Collectors and Municipal Corporation Commissioners be organised in the third week of November.
At the beginning of the meeting, Director of Census Operations gave a detailed presentation on the framework of Census-2027, preliminary preparations, digital roadmap and organisational structure. The meeting was informed that Census of India-2027 would be the country’s first census conducted through digital means, with data collected through a mobile application. Monitoring and management of the entire exercise would be carried out through a web portal. A provision for self-enumeration has also been introduced in this census, enabling ordinary citizens to enter their information themselves.
The meeting was informed that a sample exercise had been successfully completed in July 2026 in selected villages of Kurai tehsil in Seoni district and selected wards of Gwalior Municipal Corporation in Gwalior district. The Director of Census Operations presented experiences and findings of the pre-test exercise before the committee. The second phase of Census-2027 in Madhya Pradesh, namely population enumeration, will be conducted in January-February 2027.
Chief Secretary Shri Barnwal directed the School Education Department to schedule the 2027 examinations keeping in view second phase of the census. He also instructed all departments concerned to coordinate with one another and prepare a human resource availability plan for Census-2027 to ensure that the exercise is completed smoothly in Madhya Pradesh. He said that no changes should be made to administrative boundaries until the census work is completed and that transfers should, as far as possible, be avoided from January to March 2027.
Chief Secretary Shri Barnwal also directed all departments concerned to designate a nodal officer in their respective departments to coordinate Census-2027 activities. The Public Relations Department was also instructed to undertake extensive publicity to raise public awareness about the census.
