Manipur: Pherzawl launches awareness drive for Digital Census 2027

The District Administration of Pherzawl has launched a large-scale public awareness campaign to prepare residents for Census 2027, which officials described as India’s most technologically advanced population survey.

The programme, organised under the aegis of the Government of Manipur, was held at Parbung Village on Friday and later at the Pherzawl DC Office Complex on Saturday. Officials briefed participants on important timelines, procedures and the digital features of the upcoming census exercise.

According to the administration, the houselisting operations will be conducted from April 16 to May 15, 2026. Citizens will also have the option of self-enumeration through a dedicated mobile application from April 1 to April 15, 2026.

Deputy Commissioner Mannuamching, IAS, described the 16th Indian Census (2027) as a historic, fully digital, two-phase enumeration process. She said the exercise will include caste-based data collection and more than 34 updated data points, including details on internet connectivity, smartphone ownership and other socio-economic indicators to reflect changing household profiles.

Officials said the transition to digital data collection aims to improve accuracy, transparency and efficiency. Residents were urged to take part in the self-enumeration process and extend full cooperation to enumerators during the houselisting phase.

In addition, the district administration conducted an awareness programme on the “Viksit Bharat–Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) (VB-G RAM G) Act.” Officials said the scheme replaces the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act and guarantees 125 days of wage employment annually to each rural household.

Informational calendars and placards translated into Hmar were distributed to participants. The programme concluded with officials calling for collective participation as Pherzawl prepares for the national census exercise.