Odisha's Census Operations Director Nikhil Pavan Kalyan has expressed confidence in the timely completion of the first phase of the house-listing census in the state, stating that enumeration of all households will be finished by September 14.
He informed that the house-listing work under Phase 1 is progressing smoothly across Odisha, with officials having reached the halfway mark. The self-enumeration exercise was completed between August 1 and August 15.
Kalyan noted that following the significant progress in Odisha, similar activities will be undertaken in West Bengal after Phase 1 is completed. Efforts will then shift to planning and preparations for Phase 2.
“We conducted the self-enumeration exercise from August 1 to August 15, and the current process has been underway since August 16. The house-listing work under Phase 1 is proceeding smoothly; we have reached the halfway mark and are confident that-just as we successfully completed the task in Odisha and other states-we will finish counting all households by September 14 and then begin planning for Phase 2,” Kalyan said.
He also stated, “Since I am overseeing operations in both states, I can note that we completed the Phase 1 work in West Bengal back in May and have since been engaged in post-Phase 1 activities, such as preparing District Census Handbooks. We have already completed these tasks in Odisha; in West Bengal, too, we will undertake these activities following Phase 1 and then immediately focus on planning and preparations for Phase 2… We are confident that we will complete the Phase 1 work by September 14.”
The government notified the intent to conduct the Population Census 2027 in the Gazette of India on June 16, 2025. The Union Cabinet approved a financial outlay of Rs 11,718.24 crore for the census implementation.
Phase 1 (House listing and Housing Census) is scheduled between April and September 2026 and will be conducted over 30 days in each state and Union Territory, subject to their convenience. The census includes an option for 15 days of self-enumeration immediately prior to the 30-day house-to-house house-listing operation.
This phase collects detailed information on housing conditions, availability of amenities, and assets possessed by households, while creating the essential framework for the subsequent phase.
Phase 2 (Population Enumeration) is scheduled for February 2027 and aims to capture detailed demographic, socio-economic, cultural, migration, and fertility-related data of individuals across households. Enumeration of Castes will also be conducted during this phase, as decided by the Census Commissioner and Population Authority (CCPA).
For Ladakh and snow-bound non-synchronous areas of Jammu and Kashmir, as well as the states of Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh, Phase 2 will be conducted in September 2026.