States told to monitor Census 2027 data quality in real time
The Registrar General has directed states to use a digital platform to track enumeration progress and fix errors during the upcoming census.
The Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India (RG&CCI), Mritunjay Kumar Narayan, has instructed all states to track data collection progress during the Census 2027 population enumeration phase in real time. According to The Hindu, this will allow officials to spot issues with data accuracy and take necessary steps to fix them promptly.
The Census Management and Monitoring System (CMMS) will act as the main platform for planning, supervising, and managing the deployment of field staff. Narayan stated in a letter sent to Chief Secretaries and Directors of Census Operations on October 30 that the system will help identify operational bottlenecks, training gaps, and coverage issues.
This marks the first time the census will use digital data collection via an app on personal phones rather than paper schedules. Field trainers are currently briefing approximately 34 lakh enumerators on 40 questions, which include sensitive details such as caste, religion, Aadhaar access, and parental information.
Door-to-door enumeration is scheduled to begin on December 1 in Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Punjab, and Goa. While enumeration has already finished in Ladakh and parts of Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, and Uttarakhand, the rest of the country will start the exercise on January 25, 2027.