Odisha is preparing for its massive Census, as government representatives have confirmed on Wednesday that the first phase will begin in April next year. The first phase would involve housing listing as well as listing of assets, while the actual counting would take place in February 2027.
The state has been quietly preparing for this for the last six months, even running trials in Bhubaneswar and Cuttack to iron out the kinks. Development Commissioner Deo Ranjan Singh recently sat down with district collectors to make sure everyone is on the same page, and a high-level coordination meeting was held at Lok Seva Bhawan to finalise the roadmap. One of the bigger administrative tasks — adjusting the boundaries for the 24 newly formed NACs and municipal corporations — has already been completed to ensure no one is missed.
To pull this off, the state is deploying a small army of about one lakh officials. The plan is to have one enumerator for every 200 households, with a supervisor keeping an eye on every six enumerators. It’s a demanding job, and the government is offering an incentive of ₹25,000 to each enumerator. Training for these teams will take place between January and April.
In a shift toward a more digital-first approach, authorities are aiming to conduct about 90 per cent of the work online to hit that 100 pc accuracy mark. For those who prefer to handle things themselves, there will be a self-enumeration option where citizens can log their details on a government portal using a mobile OTP. Census Director Nikhil Pavan Kalyan noted that with the new urban boundaries now integrated, the focus for the next few months is strictly on getting the staff trained and ready for the April rollout.
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