CHENNAI: Tamil Nadu will roll out the self-enumeration phase of Census 2027 from Friday (July 17), marking the State's participation in India's first fully digital population census and the first nationwide headcount exercise in 16 years.
Citizens can voluntarily submit their household particulars online from July 17-31, while door-to-door House Listing and Housing Census operations will be carried out between August 1 and 30.
Announcing the schedule during a press conference at Chepauk here on Thursday, director of Census Operations, Tamil Nadu, Sundaresh Babu, appealed to the public to participate in the exercise and extend full cooperation to field officials. "Accurate data collection is fundamental to socio-economic development and evidence-based policymaking. We request every household to cooperate with the enumerators during the survey," he said.
The director said households opting for self-enumeration could securely furnish their details through the online portal until July 31. The portal will remain accessible daily from 6 am to 12 midnight. The process is expected to take about 15 to 20 minutes. Once completed, the system will generate a unique self-enumeration ID, which residents must produce when enumerators visit their homes. Families that do not opt for self-enumeration will be covered during the regular door-to-door enumeration from August 1.
He said the online platform enables users to identify the precise location of their residence through an interactive geo-tagged digital map before submitting the information. Citizens have been urged to furnish only accurate particulars, as the information submitted would become part of the official census database.
Addressing concerns over privacy and cybersecurity, Babu said a three-tier security architecture had been built into mobile devices, applications and server networks to safeguard personal information. He cautioned citizens against using unofficial websites and advised them to access only the authorised census portal to prevent fraud.
The exercise, conducted under the Census Act, 1948, forms the first phase of Census 2027, with House Listing and Housing Census operations scheduled across different states and UTs during a 30-day period between April and September 2026.
The second phase, Population Enumeration, is scheduled for February 2027 across most parts of the country, while Ladakh and the snow-bound regions of Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand will be covered separately. The final population count will be based on the reference date of March 1, 2027.
Babu said the first phase would collect detailed information on housing conditions, drinking water, sanitation, electricity, internet connectivity, cooking fuel, household assets, vehicles and other amenities through a schedule comprising 33 questions.
The Census data would provide the foundation for planning and policymaking at the Union, State and local body levels, said Sundaresh Babu, director of Census Operations in Tamil Nadu.
Describing the exercise as a landmark in India's statistical history, he said Census 2027 will replace conventional paper schedules with dedicated mobile applications for real-time data collection. The exercise will be managed through the Census Monitoring and Management System (CMMS), an integrated digital platform designed to monitor and coordinate field operations. Geo-tagged digital maps, artificial intelligence-assisted processing and faster dissemination of census data are among the key technological features being introduced. The proposed caste enumeration is also expected to be carried out during the second phase of the Census.
The director said the census machinery had already commenced preparatory work across the country, with the first phase underway in 20 States. In Tamil Nadu, district collectors will function as Principal Census Officers, while the Greater Chennai Corporation Commissioner will serve as the Principal Census Officer for Chennai, with the Chennai District Collector acting as the Additional Principal Census Officer. Nodal officers, supervisory officials, enumerators and other field personnel have been deployed for the exercise, with one supervisor overseeing every six enumerators. All officials engaged in the census will undergo structured training before field operations begin.
He added that homeless persons would also be covered during the exercise at the places where they were found residing to ensure comprehensive coverage.
Deputy registrar general J Lincoln Gnanadas and PIB Chennai deputy director J Vijayalakshmi were also present at the briefing.
Visit https://se.census.gov.in and select Tamil Nadu under States and enter the CAPTCHA
Enter the name of the head of the household and a 10-digit mobile number (The name cannot be changed later; only one mobile number per household allowed)
Select the preferred language and enter the One-Time Password received on the registered mobile number
Select your district; enter PIN code and details of the town or village
Pin your exact residential building on the map given
Fill out the house listing and housing census questionnaire
Verify all the information using the preview/review options (no changes/corrections are allowed after final submission)
After submission, an 11-digit Self-Enumeration Identification (SE ID) will be generated
Share the SE ID with the Census Enumerator visiting the household