Lucknow

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Thursday launched the first phase of Census-2027 in the state: the Houselisting and Housing Census, during which comprehensive information on the condition of housing, household amenities and assets possessed will be collected.

Addressing a gathering at the chief minister's residence, Adityanath said Census was not merely a count of population, but the foundation for holistic, inclusive and well-planned development.

He said the current era is driven by data-based decisions, and accurate data obtained from the census plays an important role in the effective implementation of infrastructure, education, healthcare, social security and various public welfare schemes.

"The census is a medium to ensure that the last person in society also becomes an equal participant in the stream of development," the chief minister said, adding that a digital census is being conducted in the country for the first time.

"In the first phase, work on house listing and the housing census will be carried out. The general public has been given the option of self-enumeration from May 7-21, 2026, through which citizens can enter their details on the digital platform," he said.

Thereafter, census personnel will conduct listing work by visiting households door-to-door during field operations, he added.

The chief minister said the second phase would involve the enumeration of every individual and added that caste enumeration has also been included this time.

He said forest villages were also being included in the census process for the first time.

Highlighting the role of technology in the exercise, Adityanath said a special census portal had been developed to ensure continuous monitoring of work up to the village and ward levels.

According to the chief minister, Uttar Pradesh's estimated population currently stands at around 25.7 crore. Census work would be conducted across 18 divisions, 75 districts, 350 tehsils, 17 municipal corporations, 745 urban local bodies, 21 cantonment boards, 57,694 gram panchayats and around 1.04 lakh revenue villages.

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He said around 5.47 lakh personnel, including 4.5 lakh enumerators, 85,000 supervisors and 12,000 state and district-level officers, were being deployed for the exercise. About 5.35 lakh personnel had already been trained for both phases.

Adityanath appealed to the people to participate actively in the census exercise which will help in effective development planning.