Published: 5 March 2026PIB / OrganiserGovernance
Union Home Minister Amit Shah Launches Census 2027 Mascots 'Pragati' and 'Vikas', Unveils Four Digital Platforms
On March 5, 2026, Union Home Minister Amit Shah soft-launched the mascots and digital tools for India's upcoming Population Census 2027 in New Delhi. The two mascots — 'Pragati' (female enumerator) and 'Vikas' (male enumerator) — were unveiled to serve as the public face of the census exercise and symbolise equal participation of men and women in nation-building toward Viksit Bharat 2047.
Census 2027 will be India's first fully digital census and the first to allow self-enumeration by citizens through a secure online portal. It will also include questions on caste, making it the first census since 1931 to enumerate caste data. Four digital platforms developed by C-DAC (Centre for Development of Advanced Computing) were launched to facilitate the enumeration operations.
The Census will be conducted in two phases: (1) Houselisting and Housing Census (HLO) — from April 1 to September 30, 2026, with each State and UT notifying a continuous 30-day window; and (2) Population Enumeration — in February 2027 across all of India. The decadal census was significantly delayed — originally due in 2021 — due to the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent logistical challenges. The data from Census 2027 will also be used to implement the Women's Reservation Act (33% reservation for women in Lok Sabha and Assemblies), which requires fresh delimitation based on the updated census.
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Q: Examine the significance of Census 2027 as India's first digital, self-enumerating and caste-inclusive census launched by Union Home Minister Amit Shah.
Answer (50 words):
On March 5, 2026, Home Minister Amit Shah launched Census 2027 mascots 'Pragati' and 'Vikas' plus four C-DAC digital platforms. India's first fully digital, self-enumerating census — also the first since 1931 to capture caste data — begins the HLO phase on April 1, 2026, enabling Women's Reservation delimitation and policy targeting.
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Practice MCQ from this story
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Linked questionMedium
Census in India is conducted under which act?
Explanation · Correct answer AThe census in India is conducted under the Census Act, 1948. Section 3 empowers the Central Government to declare by notification its intention to take a census, after which the census is carried out under the Act and the related Census Rules.
Frequently asked questions
What are the names of the Census 2027 mascots and what do they represent?
'Pragati' (female) and 'Vikas' (male) are the two official mascots of Census 2027, launched by Home Minister Amit Shah on March 5, 2026. They symbolise the inclusive and development-oriented goals of the census — capturing India's progress and growth across all demographic groups.
Why is Census 2027 historically significant with respect to caste data?
Census 2027 will be the first census to include caste data since the 1931 colonial census under British rule. India has not collected caste-wise enumeration data in any census since independence, making Census 2027 a landmark exercise. The inclusion of caste data has long been demanded for evidence-based OBC welfare policy and reservation adjustments.
What makes Census 2027 a technological first for India?
Census 2027 will be India's first fully digital census. It introduces self-enumeration, allowing citizens to fill in their own data through a mobile app or web portal. Four C-DAC digital platforms were unveiled to support this process. This contrasts with all previous censuses which relied on door-to-door paper enumeration by government enumerators.
What is the House Listing Operations (HLO) phase and when does it begin?
House Listing Operations (HLO) is the first phase of the census process where enumerators identify and list all housing units. For Census 2027, the HLO phase commenced on April 1, 2026. The Population Enumeration — the main data collection phase — is scheduled for 2027. HLO data is essential for planning the enumeration blocks and administrative logistics.
Why was the census delayed from 2021 and what is C-DAC's role in Census 2027?
The 2021 Census was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, making it the first census to be delayed since India's first post-independence census in 1951. C-DAC (Centre for Development of Advanced Computing) developed four digital platforms to facilitate Census 2027's digital self-enumeration process, covering data collection, verification, and processing infrastructure.
