Overview
- Union Home Minister Amit Shah soft-launched four C-DAC-built systems and introduced mascots Pragati and Vikas for the country's first fully digital, paperless decadal census.
- The tools—HLBC, HLO mobile app, Self-Enumeration portal, and CMMS—standardise blocks via satellite imagery, enable offline data capture on registered devices in 16 languages, allow online submissions that generate an SE ID, and provide integrated progress dashboards.
- Houselisting begins nationally on April 1, 2026 with locally notified 30-day windows preceded by a 15-day self-enumeration period, and population enumeration is slated for February 2027 with a March 1 reference date for most states.
- Snowbound areas including Ladakh and parts of Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand will conduct population enumeration earlier in September 2026.
- About 3.2 million field staff will use handheld devices under a Union Cabinet–approved Rs 11,718 crore program, with officials indicating an expanded scope that includes caste enumeration as reported.