Shillong, March 31: India’s next population census—set to be the largest in the world—will roll out in phases starting April 2026, with Meghalaya scheduled to begin its first phase from mid-May, officials announced.
Registrar General and Census Commissioner Mritunjay Kumar Narayan outlined key features of Census 2027, highlighting a major shift toward digital data collection and the introduction of self-enumeration for the first time.
For Meghalaya, the self-enumeration window will be open from May 1 to May 15, 2026, allowing residents to submit their household details online before field visits. This will be followed by the House Listing and Housing Census from May 16 to June 14, 2026, when enumerators will conduct door-to-door surveys across the state.
This phase will capture details about housing conditions, access to amenities, and assets owned by households—data that plays a crucial role in planning welfare schemes and infrastructure development in states like Meghalaya, where rural and semi-urban needs vary widely.
In a significant departure from previous exercises, Census 2027 will be conducted digitally. Enumerators will use mobile applications on smartphones to collect and upload data in real time.
Residents will also have the option to self-enumerate through a secure online portal available in 16 languages. After submitting their information, households will receive a unique ID, which must be shared with enumerators during verification.
Officials said robust data protection measures have been built into the system to ensure privacy and security.
The census will be conducted in two phases:
Phase I (April–September 2026): House Listing and Housing Census
Phase II (February 2027): Population Enumeration, covering demographic, socio-economic, education, and migration details
Notably, caste enumeration will also be included in the second phase.
The Union government has approved an outlay of ₹11,718.24 crore for the exercise. More than 30 lakh enumerators and supervisors will be deployed nationwide, supported by a large training network.
A nationwide pre-test covering around 5,000 census blocks was conducted in November 2025 to fine-tune the digital systems and field operations.
The last census was conducted in 2011, making this exercise crucial for updating India’s demographic and socio-economic data after more than a decade.
Also Read: Meghalaya gets ₹49.2 crore in XV Finance Commission grants to boost grassroots governance
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