Lucknow, May 3 -- Census 2027 will be conducted in two phases - house-listing and housing census (HLO) from May 22 to June 20 and population enumeration in February 2027, said Sheetal Verma, director of Census Operations, Uttar Pradesh, here on Saturday. Caste enumeration will be done along with census operations in the second phase. The last comprehensive caste-based count was done between 1881 and 1931. Caste was excluded from all census operations conducted since Independence. Addressing a press conference, Verma said the Census will be conducted digitally for the first time in the country, with an optional 15-day self-enumeration period from May 7-21, 2026, during which individuals can enter their information online on the portal -se.census.gov.in. Self-enumeration is optional, not mandatory. Verma said enumerators will visit each house between May 22 and June 20, recording information using a mobile app based on 33 questions notified by the central government. These questions relate to the condition of the houses, the facilities available to the families, and their assets. The Census is conducted under the provisions of the Census Act, 1948, and the Census Rules, 1990. According to these provisions, all personal information collected during the census is kept strictly confidential and is not shared with anyone. The information cannot be used for tax, police, or other investigations. It cannot be used as evidence in any matter. The data is used only in an integrated manner to plan for the development of the state and the country, she said. The census will enumerate all individuals (citizens and non-citizens) residing in the country. The reference date for Census 2027 has been fixed as 00:00 hours of March 1, 2027. Census 2027 will be the 16th census in the series since 1872 and the eighth since independence, she said. "When we go to Phase 2, which is scheduled for February 2027, we will focus on a wide range of individual characteristics and personal attributes," Verma said. "For instance, we collect data on fertility, literacy levels and the nature of one's occupation. This time, a caste enumeration will also be conducted. A caste-based census will indeed be carried out," she added. In Uttar Pradesh, approximately 5.25 lakh officers and employees have been deployed for the census work, including 18 divisional census officers (divisional commissioners), 75 chief census officers (district magistrates), 17 additional chief census officers (municipal commissioners), 600 district-level officers, 1195 charge officers (tehsildars/executive officers), 285 master trainers, 6939 field trainers as well as approximately five lakh enumerators/supervisors for the field work, she said. Census 2027 will be conducted in 1.04 lakh villages across 75 districts, 783 urban local bodies, and 350 tehsils in the state. For the census, 350 rural charges and 845 urban charges have been created. In rural areas, each tehsil has been tagged as a charge. In urban areas, each municipal zone has been tagged as a charge. Approximately 390,000 house-listing blocks (HLBs) have been created within the charges. Enumerators will conduct house-listing work in the house-listing blocks. Eighteen divisions, 75 districts, 350 tehsils, 17 municipal corporations, 745 urban local bodies, 21 Cantonment Boards/ industrial townships, 57,694 panchayats and 1.04 lakh revenue villages in the state have been divided into HLBs, she said. The HLB is the primary unit for data collection during the Census. It provides an unambiguous non-overlapping frame for the house-listing operations. The population per HLB is around 700-800. Each enumerator will be allotted an HLB for the house-listing work which will include around 800 population or 180-200 Census Houses, she said. Slum blocks will also be created during the house-listing exercise. Section 3 of the Slum Areas Act,1956 defines slum areas as those residential areas where dwellings are unfit for human habitation due to dilapidation, faulty building designs, narrowness, overcrowding, lack of ventilation and lack of drainage system etc. A slum block will include around 50-60 such dwellings. During the 2011 census approximately 10,000 slum HLBs were identified, she said. Census Management & Monitoring System portal has been developed for managing and monitoring the entire Census process on a near real-time basis. Officers at sub-district, district, state and national levels can track enumeration progress, field performance, and operational readiness through an integrated dashboard, she said....