Chandigarh, November 11: In a major outreach initiative ahead of Census 2027, the Punjab Directorate of Census Operations has rolled out nine digital LED vans to educate people about the upcoming population enumeration exercise and the facility of online self-registration.
Director of Census Operations, Punjab, Dr. Navjot Khosa, flagged off the nine vehicles from the Directorate’s office in Chandigarh on Wednesday. The vans will cover districts across Punjab, visiting major towns, villages, urban localities, markets and other crowded public places to maximise awareness and public participation.
Featuring digital displays, audio-video messages and QR codes, the vehicles will provide information about the census process and guide citizens to the official National Census Portal for self-enumeration.
Dr. Khosa said the second phase of Census 2027, covering population enumeration, would be conducted across Punjab from December 1, 2026, to January 4, 2027. The exercise will involve door-to-door visits by enumerators to collect population-related information.
She said the government had also introduced a self-enumeration facility, allowing citizens to submit their details online from November 16 to November 30 through se.census.gov.in. Once the information is submitted, a unique SE ID will be generated, which residents can provide to the enumerator during the household visit to facilitate the recording of their details.
Emphasising the importance of public cooperation, Dr. Khosa urged people to ensure that the information furnished by them was complete and accurate. She said active participation by citizens was essential for making Census 2027 a successful and reliable exercise.
The first phase, involving house listing and the housing census, has already been completed. The second phase will conclude on January 4, 2027, with January 5, 2027, designated as the reference date.
A toll-free helpline number, 1855, has been made operational to assist the public with queries and difficulties relating to the census questionnaire. Citizens can also access updates through the Directorate’s official social media platforms on Instagram, Facebook, X and YouTube under the handle @censusdcopunjab.
For effective implementation, district-level escort officers will accompany the LED vans, while the Deputy Commissioners-cum-Principal Census Officers have prepared detailed routes and identified prominent locations for the awareness campaign. The initiative aims to ensure that information about the census reaches people across both urban and rural Punjab.
