India Begins World's Largest Digital Census After COVID Delay

India has commenced its massive population enumeration, known as Census 2027, with the first phase beginning on April 1, 2026. This monumental task, delayed from its original 2021 schedule due to the COVID-19 pandemic, involves over 3 million Indian officials working for a year. Marking a significant shift, this is India's 16th Census and its first to incorporate a fully digital approach, allowing citizens the option of online self-enumeration. The process will unfold in multiple stages, starting with housing listing and operations, followed by physical door-to-door surveys to gather detailed demographic and socio-economic data. Census Commissioner Mritunjay Kumar Narayan confirmed the two-phase physical survey approach.