Bhubaneswar, Jan 20: The Odisha government has released the schedule for the house-listing phase of the Census of India 2027, which will be conducted across the state from April 16 to May 15, 2026, according to a notification issued by the Revenue Department.
The 30-day exercise will involve census personnel visiting households to mark residential units and gather basic information on housing conditions and household assets. In addition, residents will have the option of self-enumeration.
Those choosing to submit details on their own can do so between April 1 and April 15, 2026, ahead of the door-to-door survey.
Officials said the census will be carried out in two phases. The first phase will focus on house listing, while the second phase, beginning in February 2027, will involve a population census to collect individual demographic information through household visits.
Nearly one lakh enumerators will be deployed for the exercise in Odisha. Each enumerator will be responsible for covering about 200 households, with one supervisor overseeing the work of six enumerators. Enumerators will receive an incentive of ₹25,000 for their services.
Census preparations have been underway for the past six months. Pre-test surveys have already been completed in Bhubaneswar and Cuttack, and the boundaries of newly created NACs and municipalities have been finalised. Census staff are scheduled to undergo structured training over the next three months.
In the run-up to the exercise, the Development Commissioner has held review meetings with district collectors, and a state-level Census Coordination Committee meeting was convened at Lok Seva Bhawan in the presence of senior officials, including the Census Director. Authorities said the entire process will be closely monitored to ensure accuracy and smooth implementation.
About 90 per cent of the census data is expected to be collected digitally. Citizens opting for self-enumeration will be required to register on the official portal using OTP-based mobile verification. Each mobile number can be used only once, and security features such as disabling screenshots will be in place to protect data.
