Surat set for first-ever digital population count

Surat: Along with the rest of Gujarat, Surat will begin the digital population count for Census 2027 from Monday, marking the country’s first-ever digital census exercise. The upcoming enumeration will be the 16th Census in India and the eighth since Independence. The previous census was conducted in 2011.

For the exercise, city authorities have divided urban areas into 10,800 House Listing Blocks (HLBs). A total of 10,800 enumerators and 1,800 supervisors have been deployed to conduct the survey. In the rural parts of Surat district, officials have identified 2,737 HLBs, with 2,646 enumerators and 441 supervisors assigned for the operation.

Officials said enumerators, supervisors and census officers have undergone three rounds of training to ensure smooth implementation and accurate data collection. The district administration has appealed to residents to cooperate with census staff and provide correct information.

As of May 31, over 37,000 residents in Surat district had registered for digital self-enumeration. Of these, more than 32,000 have completed the process, while over 5,000 applications are still under process.

The first phase of Census 2027 — covering house listing and housing census operations — will be carried out across Gujarat from June 1 to June 30, 2026. During this phase, enumerators will gather information through a 33-question survey covering housing conditions, family details, drinking water sources, toilet facilities and household assets.

Officials said the census will leverage modern technology, with Android and iOS applications available in 16 languages, including Gujarati. The system will also support offline data collection. In addition, citizens have been given the option of completing self-enumeration through the official digital portal.