CHENNAI: The Directorate of Census Operations in Tamil Nadu will begin training programmes for District Collectors and revenue officials in May, ahead of the upcoming household data collection exercise scheduled to commence in July.
Officials said a preliminary review meeting was already held via video conference in February 2026 with District Collectors and department officials. However, training sessions were temporarily put on hold due to the Assembly elections and will resume after the declaration of results.
Director of Census Operations M Sundresh Babu said a series of structured training programmes have been planned. "Master trainers' sessions will be conducted from May 11 in three batches, with around 110 selected officials. A physical review meeting with District Collectors is likely to be held on May 15 or 22," he said, adding that the plan has been discussed with the Chief Secretary.
Tamil Nadu will undertake a fully digitised household listing operation from July 17 to August 30, covering 33 categories of household data, including building materials, amenities, and assets.
The exercise will be carried out in two phases. In the first phase, there will also be an option of self-enumeration during a 15-day period just before the 30-day period of house-to-house Houselisting and Housing Census (HLO) work.
According to officials from the State Public Department, the self-enumeration phase will take place from July 17 to 31, followed by the house listing phase from August 1 to 30.
During the survey, enumerators will collect detailed information on households, including number of residents, availability of basic amenities, ownership of vehicles and household assets. The questionnaire will also include queries on staple food consumption patterns, among other socio-economic indicators.
In the second phase, population enumeration (PE) will be done in February 2027. The enumerators will capture detailed demographic, socio-economic, cultural, migration, and fertility-related information. The enumeration of castes will also be done during this phase of Census.
Officials said the digitised approach is expected to improve accuracy, efficiency and real-time data collection, marking a significant step in modernising census operations in the State.