RGI issues rules for securing Census data ahead of Phase-2

The RGI is securing Census 2027 records from 19 states and 5 UTs, emphasizing confidentiality and using digital tools for the first time.

Updated on: Jun 28, 2026, 07:38:44 IST

By Neeraj Chauhan, New Delhi

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The Registrar General of India (RGI) has started securing and preserving physical and digital records collected by millions of enumerators over the past two months, during the first phase of the Census 2027 exercise — the house-listing operations (HLO) — in 19 states and five Union territories, people familiar with the development said on Saturday.

RGI directs officials to preserve Census data as Phase 2 approaches (Representative image)

Officials said detailed instructions were recently issued to Census officials, with information on the safe custody and preservation of working schedules, block maps, layout sketches, partially and fully filled forms, and other related documents.

The Directorate of Census Officers (DCOs) across the country also conveyed to all officials that the collected data is “confidential”, as outlined in Section 15 of the Census Act.

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Officials said the instructions included specific directions. “Charge officers have been told to collect the partially filled schedules, completed schedules, working sheets, and two copies of layout sketches of each HLB (houselisting block) from every enumerator,” said an official, citing one instance of the instructions.

“They have been told to upload the maps on the Census Management and Monitoring System portal. One copy must be sent to DCOs, while another has to be retained by the charge officers for the second phase of Census 2027,” said a senior official.

Officials were also instructed to ensure the boxes containing documents are properly labelled and that the correct boxes were collected by the department of posts.

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The instructions added that all enumerators, supervisors and other officers would receive their honorarium after all DCOs receive all census material.

The Census is being conducted in two phases — HLO and population enumeration (PE). HLO records housing conditions, assets and amenities of each household, and is being conducted from April to September 2026, whereas the PE exercise will commence from February 2027 and cover demographic, socio-economic and cultural details, including caste data.

So far, 19 states — Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Goa, Haryana, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Odisha, Punjab, Rajasthan, Sikkim, Telangana, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand — and 5 UTs — Andaman and Nicobar Islands,Chandigarh, Delhi, Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu and Lakshadweep — have completed the first phase.

The Census is being conducted using digital tools for the first time. A dedicated mobile application for the data collection process has been developed for use alongside the traditional door-to-door enumeration process.

Originally scheduled for 2021, the Census was postponed due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The decision to include caste enumeration was taken by the Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on April 30 last year.

Officials said that while they expected to finish collecting data by March 1, 2027, the results would take two to three years to publish and collate.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Neeraj Chauhan
Neeraj Chauhan is a senior journalist with Hindustan Times and an investigative reporter specialising in national security, terrorism, organised crime, narcotics, corruption, financial crime and complex investigations. With over 21 years of experience across Hindustan Times, The Times of India, The Indian Express and The Pioneer, he has built deep expertise in India’s internal security and law-enforcement landscape. Neeraj has extensively covered India’s principal investigative, intelligence and security agencies, including the NIA, CBI, ED, IB, R&AW, MHA and other central security forces. His work has included deeply reported investigations into terrorism, terror financing, cross-border crime, narcotics trafficking, cybercrime, financial fraud and political and corporate corruption. He has reported on some of the most significant terror attacks and security developments in India over the past two decades, including the Delhi serial blasts, the 26/11 Mumbai attacks, the 2019 Pulwama terror attack and the recent Pahalgam attack. His reporting has also chronicled the rise and decline of the Indian Mujahideen, the activities and subsequent crackdown on the Popular Front of India (PFI), Islamist extremist networks, the conflict in Jammu and Kashmir, insurgencies in the Northeast and Maoist violence. Some of Neeraj’s major breaking stories are in Aryan Khan drug case, Sushant Singh Rajput suicide, interception of a 3,000-kg Afghan heroin consignment worth about ₹21,000 crore at Mundra port, Sri Lanka easter bombings, Aarushi-Hemraj murders in Noida, 2G scam, coal block allocation scam, AgustWestland VVIP chopper deal and major bank frauds and extradition cases involving Mehul Choksi, Nirav Modi and Vijay Mallya. His reporting is marked by an ability to cultivate sources, analyse confidential and complex documents, and follow investigations over several years—from the initial breakthrough to chargesheets, trials and international legal proceedings. He specialises in making complicated security and investigative developments accessible while examining their wider implications for governance and public policy. A Chevening South Asia Journalism Programme Fellow at the University of Westminster, Neeraj also spent time at the Financial Times as part of the fellowship. He was also a Robert Bosch Media Ambassadors India-Germany Fellow, studying at the University of Tübingen and working with Der Tagesspiegel in Berlin. He has previously taught investigative journalism and crime reporting as a guest faculty member at the Times School of Journalism. Over more than two decades, Neeraj has established himself as an authoritative voice on India’s national security and investigative landscape, with his reporting closely followed by officials, investigators, lawyers, policymakers and readers seeking insight into some of the country’s most complex and consequential developments.Read More

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