Modi urges participation in Census 2027 as online returns grow

Prime Minister Narendra Modi urged people to take part in India’s ongoing Census 2027 and use its online self-enumeration option, saying more than 32 crore families’ data had been recorded in the first phase and more than 2.6 crore people had submitted details through mobile phones. He made the appeal in his monthly Mann Ki Baat radio address on September 27, describing participation as a shared national responsibility. The progress figures and process details were presented by Modi in the address; the reports reviewed did not provide independent census data to verify them. Modi said the first phase was nearing completion, while census work continued in remote, snowbound areas including Ladakh, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, and Uttarakhand. The material provided does not clarify how the reported phase status relates to the work continuing in those regions. Modi said the self-enumeration facility allows people to submit household information by mobile phone in 16 languages. He said completing the form takes about 15 to 20 minutes.