Mascots Pragati, Vikas to serve as the friendly faces of Census 2027

POPULATION

6 MARCH 2026

• Union Home Minister Amit Shah unveiled two mascots, Pragati (female enumerator) and Vikas (male enumerator), as friendly faces for the upcoming Population Census 2027.
• The Population Census 2027 data will be collected using secure mobile applications by going door-to-door.
• This will be the first Census that will be digital, and the first to allow self-enumeration and enumeration of caste.
• The Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC) developed the advanced digital platforms to facilitate enumeration operations across the country.
• Census 2027 is to be conducted in two phases — Houselisting Operations (HLO), and Population Enumeration.
• Mr. Shah soft-launched four digital tools to be used during the exercise.
• These are :
• Houselisting Block Creator (HLBC) web application
• Houselisting Operations (HLO) mobile app
• Self-Enumeration (SE) portal
• Census Management and Monitoring System (CMMS) portal.
• HLBC is web-map application that enables Charge Officers to digitally create houselisting blocks using satellite imagery, ensuring standardised geographic coverage across the country.
• The HLO app is a secure, offline mobile application for enumerators to collect and upload houselisting data. Only enumerators registered on the CMMS portal can access the application.
• The SE portal is a secure web-based facility that allows eligible respondents within a household to submit their household information online, prior to field operations. Upon successful submission, a unique Self-Enumeration ID (SE ID) is generated. This SE ID can be shared with the enumerator, on the basis of which the enumerator will be able to verify the information.
• The CMMS is a centralised, web-based digital platform designed to plan, manage, execute, and monitor all Census-related activities across administrative levels.