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Hyderabad: The pre-test for the first phase of the National Population Census 2027 in Telangana will be conducted from November 10 to 30, along with a similar exercise nationwide, covering Thipparthi mandal (Nalgonda district), Pinapaka mandal (Khammam district), and Ramachandrapuram (Division 112) under GHMC limits here.Citizens will also be allowed to submit their details digitally through a self-enumeration window from November 1 to 7. The exercise aims to evaluate all key components of the upcoming Census — including questionnaire design, data collection, logistics, training, printing, and data quality checks.Setting the groundwork, the Centre announced that citizens can file their personal information online during the pre-test phase, as part of the government’s push towards a digital and technology-driven enumeration system. The pre-test for the Housing Listing and Housing Census forms the first phase of the Census.Registrar-General and Census Commissioner of India, Mrityunjay Kumar Narayan, has written to Telangana Chief Secretary K. Ramakrishna Rao, seeking the state government’s cooperation to ensure the smooth conduct of the exercise in these selected areas.The Union Home Ministry has invoked Section 17A of the Census Act, 1948, to enable the pre-test. The notification issued by Mrityunjay Kumar Narayan stated that the pre-test would serve as a mock exercise to identify gaps, test digital systems, and refine procedures before the full-scale Census scheduled between April 1, 2026, and February 28, 2027.Officials said Census 2027 will mark a historic milestone as India’s first-ever digital Census and, for the first time since Independence, will include the enumeration of caste data. The exercise will be carried out in two major phases — Houselisting Operation (HLO) and Population Enumeration (PE). The first phase will record details on housing conditions, assets, and amenities, while the second phase will collect demographic, socio-economic, and cultural data of every person in each household.The Population Enumeration will commence on February 1, 2027, with March 1, 2027, as the reference date for most states, including Telangana. Nationwide, the Census will involve over 34 lakh enumerators and supervisors, assisted by about 1.3 lakh Census officials, making it one of the largest administrative exercises in the world.This will be India’s 16th Census overall and the eighth since Independence. The official Gazette notification, confirming the government’s intent to conduct the Census, was issued on June 16, 2025. The last Census was conducted in 2011, while the 2021 exercise was postponed due to the Covid-19 pandemic.What it entailsThe pre-test will consist of a 34-question digital questionnaire, to be answered entirely through mobile and online platforms.A total of 200 personnel will be engaged for the process in Telangana, including 40 supervisors and 160 enumerators.Each enumerator is expected to cover around 700 households.Most of the field staff will be government teachers, while others will be drawn from the panchayat raj, municipal, and revenue departments.Training for all staff will be conducted from November 2 to 4 at respective MRO offices.
