Bhubaneswar: The self-enumeration phase of the Census has begun in Odisha from today, marking a major step towards India’s first digital population count. Citizens can submit their details online till midnight on April 15.

Director of Census Operations in Odisha, Nikhil Pavan Kalyan, said the exercise was formally launched with the Governor becoming the first citizen in the state to complete self-enumeration. This is the first time that people have been given the option to fill in their Census details digitally on their own.

The government has designed a questionnaire with 33 questions covering key aspects such as housing conditions, family details, head of the household, vehicles, land ownership and LPG usage. Caste-related data has also been included in the enumeration process.

The digital platform allows residents to provide their information through the Census website, reducing dependence on physical surveys during the initial phase.

After the self-enumeration window closes on April 15, the House Listing Operation will begin on April 16 and continue till May 15. During this phase, trained enumerators and supervisors will visit households across all 30 districts to verify and collect data.

The Census exercise is being carried out by the Directorate of Census Operations under the Ministry of Home Affairs, in coordination with the state’s Revenue and Disaster Management Department.

Preparations for the exercise have been extensive. Around 67 Master Trainers were trained at the Gopabandhu Administrative Academy, who in turn trained 1,552 field trainers. These trainers are currently preparing over one lakh personnel, including more than 1,00,000 enumerators and over 17,000 supervisors, for fieldwork.

The enumeration will cover both urban and rural areas, including municipal corporations, municipalities, notified area councils and industrial towns. Mobile applications will be used for field data collection, while information submitted online will be verified during door-to-door visits.

To create awareness, renowned sand artist and Padma Shri awardee Sudarshan Pattnaik has been appointed as the brand ambassador for the Census campaign.

Senior administrative officials, including District Collectors and Municipal Commissioners, have been assigned key roles in supervising the process, with teachers engaged as enumerators and supervisors.