Census 2027: 15-day self-counting period to begin in Kerala on June 16

K. Biju, Secretary, General Administration Department and Census State Nodal Officer, explaining the self-enumeration process at a press conference in Thiruvananthapuram on Monday (June 15, 2026). (From left) District Collector Anu Kumari; T. Mithra, Director of Census Operations – Kerala and Chief Census Officer; and Athira Thampi, Deputy Director, Press Information Bureau were also seen. | Photo credit: Special arrangement

On Tuesday (June 16, 2026), the 15-day self-counting period of the House and Apartment Census, which forms Phase I of the 2027 Census, will begin in Kerala.

The public can directly enter their household details through the portal until June 30. The portal is accessible on Tuesdays from 6 am. The data thus submitted will be verified by the Census Commissioners during their visits to the field for data collection from July 1 to 30.

Respondents are required to provide information based on their current residence, said K. Biju, secretary, general administration department and state nodal officer for the census exercise. Students and staff living elsewhere for education or work should provide details of their current place of residence. Likewise, tenants should provide details of the rented house they are currently living in. The portal is accessible only from Indian territory.

Data protection and privacy are ensured in the exercise, census officials said. Only aggregate data will be published. Individual information will remain confidential, said T. Mithra, Director of Census Operations – Kerala and Chief Census Officer.

Unique ID

After completing self-counting, respondents will be required to share the unique 11-digit “SE ID” generated during self-counting with the enumerator during the door-to-door visit.

A total of 33 questions were announced for the first phase. The Kerala government issued a notice on May 7 seeking the public’s cooperation in providing “accurate, unambiguous” information in response to questions, census officials said.

There are 682 census towns and 758 villages in Kerala. There are approximately 58,619 apartment blocks in the state.

About 61,282 enumerators and 10,189 supervisors, mostly teachers and other government employees, were identified from across Kerala to visit house roll blocks delineated using a web-based mapping application and assigned to them for data collection.

Enumerators will use a mobile application for data collection, and the entire operation will be managed through a specialized web portal, the Census Management and Monitoring System.

Two phases

India’s first digital census, Census 2027, is being conducted in two phases. Phase I consists of House and Flat Census (HLO) to be held in Kerala from 1st to 30th July. Phase II – Population Census will be held in February 2027.

The Directorate of Census Operations, Kerala, is responsible for coordinating census-related activities with the state government, with the Principal Chief Census Officer as the Director. The State Nodal Department is a General Administration Department (GAD) with its Secretary as the State Nodal Census Officer.

At the district level, the District Collectors are the Principal Enumeration Officers (PCOs) responsible for enumeration operations.

The toll-free helpline 1855 will soon be operational.

Published – 15 Jun 2026 19:48 IST