Census 2027 to be first fully-digital exercise; House Listing Operations from May 11: Telangana says CS

Telangana Chief Secretary K. Ramakrishna Rao has said that the upcoming Census-2027 will mark a historic milestone in the country as it will be the first-ever fully-digital census.

The entire exercise will be conducted through a dedicated mobile application for field data collection, ensuring real time data capture, enhanced accuracy, transparency and faster processing.

House Listing Operations from May 11

The House Listing Operations (HLO) for the Census 2027 will start from May 11 across the State, he said. The Chief Secretary, accompanied by State Census Operations Director Bharathi Holikeri, briefed the district collectors on the modalities and preparedness for the upcoming enumeration process on Tuesday (March 3, 2026). The meeting formed part of the day long district collectors conference that started in Hyderabad in the morning and Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy is slated to explain the district collectors and senior officials about the 99-day action plan Praja Palana – Pragati Pranalika.

Citizens can voluntarily submit data online

As part of the digital initiative, self enumeration process would commence 15 days prior to the HLO, enabling citizens to voluntarily submit their data online through a designated platform. The Chief Secretary directed the district Collectors to ensure comprehensive geographical coverage ensuring that no household, remote settlement, tribal hamlet or urban slum was left out of the process. Special attention must be paid to inaccessible and vulnerable areas to ensure complete and inclusive coverage.

Stressing on the importance of capacity building, Mr. Rao underscored the need for high quality and structured training for field level functionaries including enumerators and supervisors. The success of the fully-digital census would hinge on the technological proficiency and preparedness of the field staff.

There was a need for adherence to timelines, maintenance of data quality standards, transparency in operations and seamless technological integration at every stage of the exercise. The Collectors should closely monitor preparatory activities and address logistical or operational bottlenecks proactively.

District Collectors, Secretaries of various department and senior officials at a meeting on Census-2027, chaired by Chief Secretary K. Ramakrishna Rao in Hyderabad on March 3, 2026
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Ms. Bharati Holikeri, who presented a detailed overview of the operational framework, briefed about the structured training cascade model designed for systematic capacity building from the State level to field functionaries. She elaborated on the integration of advanced digital systems, including mobile based applications and back-end monitoring mechanisms, to ensure smooth and secure data collection.

She briefed the district Collectors on the field level preparatory activities like finalisation of enumeration blocks, verification of jurisdictional boundaries, device readiness and coordination with local authorities to facilitate uninterrupted field operations.

Telangana Chief Secretary K. Ramakrishna Rao at a meeting with Collectors and other senior officials at Dr. B.R. Ambedkar Telangana State Secretariat in Hyderabad on March 3, 2026
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