New Delhi, March 30 The first phase of the 2027 Census, House Listing Operations, will begin in Delhi on April 16, during which information pertaining to all structures, houses, and households will be collected, Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India Mrityunjay Kumar Narayan said on Monday.
The exercise will be conducted in two 30-day periods – from April 16 to May 15 for areas under NDMC and Delhi Cantonment, and for areas under MCD from May 16 to June 15, as outlined in the schedule, he said at a press conference.
Self-enumeration for the NDMC and Delhi Cantonment areas will begin on April 1, and for the MCD, from May 1 to May 15.
Citizens will have the option of self-enumeration, where they visit the self-enumeration website, register, and provide all the information, after which a 16-digit code will be generated, Narayan said.
"This code will be shared with the enumerator when he visits the household, where he would verify the information shared by an individual digitally in self-enumeration. Citizens can make any necessary corrections at this stage. Once verified, the information will be submitted," he said.
The 2027 Census is being conducted in two phases – the first stage is known as house listing and housing census, and the second stage is the population census.
In a first, the exercise will be completely digital, with enumerators using a special mobile application created for the purpose on their phones to collect the information.
Citizens will be asked 33 questions during the exercise regarding basic facilities in their houses, information about the head of the household, such as name and sex, and the ownership status.
According to the gazette notification issued on January 22, enumerators will also ask about the number of dwelling rooms exclusively in possession of the household and the number of married couple(s) living there, the main source of drinking water, main source of lighting, access to and type of latrine, wastewater outlet, availability of bathing facility, availability of kitchen and LPG and PNG connection and the main fuel used for cooking.
Enumerators will also collect information about radio and transistor, television set, access to internet, gadgets like laptops, computers, telephones, mobile phones, and smartphones, type of vehicle, the main cereal consumed in the household, and mobile numbers for census-related communication.
An officer who intentionally puts "any offensive or improper question" during the 2027 Census will face a punishment with imprisonment which may extend to three years upon conviction.
