♦ Union Home Minister Amit Shah unveiled two mascots – “Pragati”  (a female enumerator) and “Vikas” (a male enumerator) for the upcoming Census 2027 in New Delhi on 5 MArch 2026. The census, which will be conducted in two phases, is expected to be the world’s largest enumeration exercise and will involve more than three million enumerators, supervisors and officials across India.

♦ During the event, HM Shah introduced four advanced digital platforms developed by the Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC) to streamline the census process and enhance monitoring of field operations.

♦ For the first time in India’s census history, citizens will also have the option of Self-Enumeration, allowing respondents to submit their household details online before the door-to-door survey. The secure web-based portal will enable eligible members of a household to fill in their data in 16 languages. Once submitted, a unique Self-Enumeration ID will be generated, which enumerators can later verify during field visits.

♦ The government had earlier notified its intent to conduct the Census 2027 through a Gazette notification issued on June 16, 2025, formally initiating the process.