Govt To Conduct 2027 Census Via Digital Means

Marking a major shift in how data is collected in the country, minister of state (MoS) for home affairs Nityanand Rai today informed the Parliament that the government plans to undertake the upcoming 2027 national Census via “digital means”. 

In a written reply before the Lok Sabha, Rai said that the Centre plans to collect data for the Census through mobile apps. The MoS added that the upcoming exercise will also enable respondents to “self-enumerate” through a web portal. 

As per the government’s 2022 Census rules, self-enumeration is defined as “filling-up, completion and submission of census schedule by respondents themselves”.

In addition, the government plans to manage and monitor the entire Census process through a dedicated online portal. 

“It has been decided to conduct Census 2027 through digital means. It is planned to collect data through mobile apps. Respondents may also self-enumerate through the web portal. The Census process is to be managed and monitored through a dedicated portal,” said MoS Rai.

If the plan materialises, this will be the most significant overhaul of its population-counting exercise since independence. The move is likely aimed at improving data accuracy, reducing the need for manual data entry, skipping long processing cycles and likely ensuring near real-time insights for policymakers. 

It also opens the door for faster release of provisional numbers, potentially within months, rather than the multi-year lag that followed the 2011 Census. Additionally, the 2027 Census could potentially also see the full-scale deployment of the Centre’s digital public infrastructure (DPIs), at least in urban areas.

Notably, this shift to digital means could open up opportunities for Indian startups and enterprises operating in SaaS, data infrastructure and regtech segments. A census-grade demand is also expected to spike demand for local cloud services, AI models and geotech products if the Centre sticks to its data localisation pitch. 

The development comes weeks after the IT ministry (MeitY) notified the Digital Personal Data Protection (DPDP) Rules, 2025 to supervise the use of personal data. The new norms set standard procedures for collecting, accessing and safeguarding information of local citizens. These rules also underline the obligations of data-handling entities and the entitlements of individuals.