Tamil Nadu launches India's first fully digital housing census

Tamil Nadu began the first phase of Census 2027 on August 1, conducting a month‑long door‑to‑door enumeration that will run until August 30. More than 1.15 lakh enumerators, organized into nearly 1.2 lakh house‑listing blocks and overseen by about 19 000 supervisors, will visit every household across the state.

The exercise uses a dedicated mobile application to record responses to a 33‑question schedule covering housing conditions, ownership, utilities, sanitation, electricity, cooking fuel and communication facilities. This replaces the traditional paper‑based method, aiming to improve accuracy, speed up processing and reduce errors. Ahead of the launch, over 10 lakh households submitted their details online through a self‑enumeration portal, and residents are asked to keep their Self‑Enumeration ID ready for verification.

All data are protected under the Census Act, 1948, and will be used solely for statistical analysis to support evidence‑based policymaking, targeted welfare delivery and long‑term development planning in Tamil Nadu.