New Delhi, Feb. 4 -- About 3.2 million Census functionaries involved in conducting the largest administrative exercise will be trained on how to approach people, ask questions, build rapport, ensure absolute confidentiality of data, maintain complete neutrality in conduct and sensitivity when interacting with the public, particularly on personal questions, the Registrar General of India (RGI) has said while issuing a document outlining the strategy and guidelines for training for the first phase. Asserting that these three million functionaries will be engaged in a task of national importance and that data quality hinges on a clear and uniform understanding of Census concepts and questions, RGI Mrityunjay Kumar Narayan said in a circular, issued on January 30, that "effective training of field functionaries acts as a cornerstone for a successful Census". "It serves (as) the foundational step to build a highly skilled and motivated workforce capable of executing a seamless, accurate, and trustworthy Census by adopting a cascade training model, emphasizing hands-on digital tool proficiency, data privacy, and inclusiveness by making the data collection process humane," said the circular -- which HT has seen -- sent to states, Union Territories and directors of Census operations (DCOs), . Narayan said that while his office and DCOs will oversee and monitor all training activities, the state/UT governments will be responsible for ensuring effective implementation of training guidelines for census functionaries. There are 100 national trainers (NTs) from DCOs; 2,000 master trainers (MTs) -- comprising DCOs and officers nominated by states; 45,000 field trainers (FTs) -- sourced from states; and three million enumerators and supervisors -- who will conduct the actual data collection for Census 2027. Referring to the training module developed by his office for the Census functionaries, the RGI said enumerators' and supervisors' training will focus on "use of Census data in nation building, hands-on use of digital tools, Census concepts and definitions, questions in HLO and field procedures, methods of approaching households and rapport building, standardized ways of asking questions and data quality, and preparation of layout map". The circular states that all training material has been made available in 16 languages and that every training session will emphasise the core principles of the exercise: "Absolute confidentiality of data, complete neutrality in conduct, and sensitivity when interacting with the public, particularly on personal questions". The 16th Census, which will include caste enumeration, was announced by the Centre last year. It will be conducted in two phases and is expected to be completed by March 1, 2027....