Jaipur: Rajasthan is set to conduct its first digital census in 2027, marking a significant shift in the data collection process. This census will be conducted in two phases and for the first time since 1931, caste-wise data for all communities will be collected.Addressing a press conference in Jaipur Tuesday, principal secretary (statistics) Bhavani Singh Detha and director, Rajasthan (census operations) Bishnu Charan Malik announced that the house listing phase will run from April to Sept 2026. This will be followed by population enumeration from Feb 9 to 20, 2027. Homeless persons will be counted on February 28, 2027. “In the first phase, we will list all houses and assets; in the second, we will count individuals. A total of 29 categories of information will be collected,” Malik said. Responding to a query on the redrawing of wards and panchayats, he clarified that boundaries can be amended until Dec 31, 2025.Enumerators will use tablets to enter data directly, with a special web portal enabling residents to complete the process themselves. “Digital tools will enable real-time monitoring, improve accuracy, and reduce errors,” Malik said.Malik also highlighted that the 1931 census was the last time when caste data of all family members was collected and published. “In 1941, caste details were gathered but never released. After independence, the census has only recorded Scheduled Castes (SC) and Scheduled Tribes (ST), but in 2027, data for all castes will be collected,” he said.Over two lakh personnel—including 1.5 lakh enumerators, mainly teachers and local body employees, and up to 40,000 supervisors—will be deployed. The state govt has been urged to ban transfers for census staff from Jan 1, 2026, to March 31, 2027. All administrative boundaries—wards, villages, cities, tehsils, sub-divisions, and districts—will be frozen during the census period, with no new units created until its completion.
Raj to conduct first digital census in 2027, collect caste data after 96 years | Jaipur News
