India, May 17 -- Ramabai Ambedkar Nagar in Ghatkopar East is abuzz with activity on Saturday morning. A motley crowd of over 150 people-teachers, ASHA workers, BMC health department staff-has queued up at a health post to embark on a vital government exercise: the 16th census of India, which was meant to happen in 2021 but was postponed. The government employees are there to collect their orders, kits, identity cards and rough maps before beginning field work.

Nearly 24,500 enumerators and supervisors like them lined up at health posts and ward offices in the city to collect the paraphernalia needed for house listing and house census, the first phase of Census 2027. For the first three days, the teams will study and map their assigned ar...