A state-level Census Coordination Committee (SLCCC) meeting was held on Friday, chaired by Pratyaya Amrit, the Chief Secretary of the Bihar government, to discuss preparations for the 2027 census. The committee was established to coordinate, monitor, and oversee census-related activities across all relevant departments.
Attendees of the meeting included representatives from the Bihar General Administration Department, Revenue and Land Reforms Department, Education Department, Finance Department, Planning and Development Department, Social Welfare Department, Panchayati Raj Department, Urban Development and Housing Department, Rural Development Department, Information and Public Relations Department, Information Technology Department, along with District Magistrates from Sitamarhi, Nawada, and Saran.
The meeting involved detailed discussions on the framework of the upcoming 2027 census and, in particular, the organization of pre-testing.
Key points discussed included:
1. Deliberations on the jurisdiction of all 534 rural and 263 urban administrative units in Bihar.
2. The Director of the Census Operations Directorate, Bihar, Patna, stated that no changes would be made to the administrative boundaries of the state from December 31, 2025, until the completion of the 2027 Census on March 31, 2027, in accordance with the notification issued by the state government regarding Boundary Freezing.
3. The 2027 Census of India is to be conducted in two phases: the first phase, involving the listing of houses and their enumeration, is to be completed within 30 days, between April and September 2026, in consultation with and according to the convenience of the state government. The second phase involves the actual enumeration, scheduled between February 9 and 28, 2027.
4. For the first time, the 2027 Census will be conducted entirely in a digital mode. Detailed discussions were held on the following points:
* Updating administrative units through a portal related to jurisdictional changes.
* Preparing appointment letters, identity cards, and digital charge registers for supervisors and enumerators through the Census Management and Monitoring System (CMMS) portal, and conducting supervision and monitoring of census-related work.
* Preparation of House Listing Blocks (HLBs) and Digital Layout Maps (DLM).
* Providing self-enumeration facilities to citizens.
5. Training arrangements will be implemented, with training programs conducted at five levels, including Subject Matter Experts, National Trainers, Master Trainers, Field Trainers, enumerators, and supervisors.
6. Pre-testing is to be conducted in October-November 2025 in three charges of Bihar. A mobile application will be used for the first time for this purpose. The pre-testing will involve the evaluation of the Questionnaire, CMMS portal, HLO and PE mobile app, DLM Mapping App, and HLB Creator Portal.
