Thiruvananthapuram (Keralam) [India], June 16 (ANI): Keralam Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar on Tuesday flagged off phase I of Census 2027 by completing the self-enumeration process upon registering his details through the self-enumeration digital platform in Lok Bhavan.

The self-enumeration process will be conducted in two phases: Phase I (Self-Enumeration): August 1 to August 14, 2026; Phase II (House Listing Operations): August 16 to September 14, 2026. The Census operations will continue thereafter, culminating in the reference date of March 1, 2027.

The Self-Enumeration facility is open to the general public through which they can submit their details in the portal. In Phase I of the Houselisting and Housing Census, through house-to-house visits, data on housing conditions, amenities available and assets possessed by individual households are collected.

The Census 2027 marks the largest administrative and statistical exercise in the world and is India's first-ever fully digital census, bidding adieu to the massive number of paper schedules that defined the previous such exercises of the past 150 years of Indian enumeration.

Census 2027 utilises the strength of the country in digital literacy and uses a digital mode of data collection through an app-based system, rendering the entire exercise seamless, transparent, and entirely paperless. It is a 100 per cent digital initiative and is sustainable, effectively transforming the world's largest administrative exercise into the world's biggest exercise in green governance as well.

In Keralam, Phase I of Census 2027 is scheduled from July 1-30, 2026, and the facility of self-enumeration is available from today, June 16 to June 30. After completing self-enumeration, the Governor exhorted all to wholeheartedly participate in the self-enumeration process and actively contribute towards an inclusive and accurate Census 2027 to make it a grand success.

The Chief Secretary, A. Jayathilak, District Collector Anukumari, K.Biju, Secretary GAD, Government of Kerala, Mitra T IAS, Director of Census operations, K Vasuki, Secretary to the Governor, Anjali Jose, Executive officer, Census were present. (ANI)