India, Dec. 9 -- Marking a major shift in how data is collected in the country, minister of state (MoS) for home affairs Nityanand Rai today informed the Parliament that the government plans to undertake the upcoming 2027 national Census via "digital means".

In a written reply before the Lok Sabha, Rai said that the Centre plans to collect data for the Census through mobile apps. The MoS added that the upcoming exercise will also enable respondents to "self-enumerate" through a web portal.

As per the government's 2022 Census rules, self-enumeration is defined as "filling-up, completion and submission of census schedule by respondents themselves".

In addition, the government plans to manage and monitor the entire Census process through ...