Jammu, Jan 20: In a significant step towards preparations for Census 2027, a Union Territory Level Census Coordination Committee meeting was held today under the chairmanship of the Chief Secretary, Atal Dulloo here.

The meeting was attended by the Additional Chief Secretary, Planning, Administrative Secretaries, Divisional Commissioners, Deputy Commissioners of all districts, senior officers of the UT Administration and officers of the Directorate of Census Operations.
The Chief Secretary underscored the need for close coordination between the UT Administration and the Census Directorate and directed all Deputy Commissioners to extend full support to ensure smooth, accurate and timely conduct of Census operations. He assured full cooperation of the UT Government for the successful conduct of Census 2027.
A key decision taken during the meeting pertained to the Census schedule. It was decided that House Listing Operations (HLO) will be conducted across the Union Territory from June 1 to June 30, 2026, with self-enumeration commencing 15 days prior to HLO. The UT Government will issue the requisite notification by January 31, 2026. To facilitate smooth self-enumeration, services of Technical Assistants and Charge Officials will be utilised to guide the general public during the 15-day self-enumeration period.
During the meeting, the Director Census Operations, J&K and Ladakh, Amit Sharma made a comprehensive presentation outlining the framework and key features of Census 2027, which will be India’s first fully digital Census.
The presentation highlighted major innovations including the Census Management and Monitoring System (CMMS), provision for self-enumeration by citizens, and caste enumeration, being introduced for the first time. The sequence of Census activities—covering training, self-enumeration, houselisting and population enumeration—along with detailed timelines was also elaborated.
To ensure accuracy and consistency of Census data, the Additional Chief Secretary, Planning was asked to coordinate with the concerned Administrative Secretaries for examination and finalisation of figures related to villages, tehsils and other administrative units for Census 2027. The Commissioner Secretary, Housing and Urban Development Department was instructed to ensure that details of slum areas are finalised and communicated to the Census Directorate within the prescribed timelines.
Emphasising the importance of robust field-level execution, the meeting approved expeditious hiring of manpower for Census 2027 at the UT, district and charge levels. Deputy Commissioners were directed to constitute District Level Census Cells and nominate suitable officers for coordination, training and supervision. Instructions were also issued for timely identification of master trainers, supervisors and enumerators.
The meeting also deliberated on strengthening public awareness and outreach. In this regard, the Director Census Operations proposed seeking support from Jammu & Kashmir Bank for publicity and awareness campaigns through pamphlets, posters, hoardings and other communication platforms to encourage citizen participation.