Over 92 lakh households used self-enumeration facility in first phase of Census: RGI

More than 92 lakh households across 23 states and Union Territories have used the Self-Enumeration SE facility during the first phase of the Census through the official portal so far, officials said on Thursday. The self-enumeration facility is a first-of-its-kind initiative by the Registrar General of India RGI, allowing citizens to answer Census-related questions online during the first phase of the Census, they said.

More than 92 lakh households across 23 states and Union Territories have used the Self-Enumeration (SE) facility during the first phase of the Census through the official portal so far, officials said on Thursday. The self-enumeration facility is a first-of-its-kind initiative by the Registrar General of India (RGI), allowing citizens to answer Census-related questions online during the first phase of the Census, they said. Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India flagged off six awareness vans in Delhi on Thursday as part of a public outreach campaign for the ongoing first phase of the Census -- Houselisting and Housing Census (HLO). The HLO phase for the NDMC and Delhi Cantonment areas will conclude on April 15, while in the remaining parts of the national capital, it will continue till June 14, 2026. ''The Census awareness vans will travel across Delhi, carrying messages on Census participation, Self-Enumeration (SE) facility, key features of Census 2027, and the importance of public cooperation with Enumerators during field visits,'' a government statement said. The RGI has launched the SE facility for the first time, enabling citizens to answer 33 notified questions on a special website developed for the purpose. The ID generated after the process will be handed over to the enumerator during the field visit. ''About 92 lakh households have successfully completed Self-Enumeration across 23 states and Union Territories through the official portal so far,'' the RGI said. The Census, the eighth since Independence, is being conducted in two phases. The first stage is HLO, and the second stage is the population census. In a first, the exercise will be conducted entirely digitally, with enumerators using a dedicated mobile application to collect data. During the housing listing operations, enumerators will physically visit each house and building and ask 33 questions regarding basic facilities in homes, details of the head of the household, such as name and sex, ownership status, and other information. The second phase of the Census -- population enumeration -- will begin next year.