HM Amit Shah Unveils ‘Pragati’ and ‘Vikas’ for Digital Census 2027

• Amit Shah launches digital tools and mascots for Census 2027 in New Delhi
• India to conduct its first fully digital census with self-enumeration option
• Over 30 lakh enumerators to participate in the world’s largest census exercise
• Mascots ‘Pragati’ and ‘Vikas’ symbolize equal role of women and men in nation building

GG News Bureau
New Delhi, 5th March: Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Thursday soft-launched a set of digital tools and unveiled mascots “Pragati” and “Vikas” for the upcoming Census 2027, marking the beginning of preparations for what will be the world’s largest population enumeration exercise.

The mascots—Pragati, representing a female enumerator, and Vikas, representing a male enumerator—symbolize the equal participation of women and men in building a developed India by 2047.

First fully digital census

For the first time in India’s history, the census will be conducted digitally. Citizens will also have the option of self-enumeration, allowing them to submit household information online through a secure portal before the traditional door-to-door survey begins.

The self-enumeration facility will be available through a web-based platform supporting 16 languages, enabling respondents to enter their data and generate a unique Self-Enumeration ID, which enumerators will later verify during field visits.

Four digital platforms launched

The digital infrastructure for Census 2027 has been developed by Centre for Development of Advanced Computing.

Four key digital tools were introduced:

• Houselisting Block Creator Web Application: Allows officers to create houselisting blocks using satellite imagery for accurate geographical coverage.
• HLO Mobile Application: Enables enumerators to collect and upload data directly through secure mobile devices.
• Self-Enumeration Portal: Allows citizens to enter their household information online before field surveys begin.
• Census Management and Monitoring System: A centralized digital dashboard for planning and monitoring census operations nationwide.

Officials said the digital system will eliminate paperwork, allow real-time monitoring, and ensure secure data collection.

Massive nationwide exercise

More than 30 lakh enumerators, supervisors and officials will be deployed across the country to conduct the census.

The census will take place in two phases.

The first phase, Houselisting and Housing Census, will collect information about housing conditions and amenities. This phase will be conducted between April and September 2026.

The second phase, Population Enumeration, will be carried out in February 2027 to collect demographic, social and economic information about every individual.

The government has also confirmed that caste-related questions will be included in the population enumeration phase.

Key reference dates

The reference date for Census 2027 will be 00:00 hours on March 1, 2027 for most states and union territories.

For Ladakh and snow-bound areas of Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand, the reference date will be October 1, 2026.

Officials said the integration of advanced digital platforms will make Census 2027 more accurate, efficient and citizen-friendly while ensuring complete coverage across the country.