Hans news Service Hyderabad

Thestate government has issued a notification regarding the Census of India 2027 stating that the upcoming census will be conducted digitally.

Residents have the option of self-enumeration from April 26 to May 10. During this time, households may submit their details digitally before field officers begin house visits.

The preliminary phase of the census, that is, data collection from households, will begin in Telangana on May 11 and continue till June 9, according to the notification.

Citizens are legally bound to answer the questions of their local census officers to the best of their knowledge or belief. However, individuals are not required to disclose the names of female household members unless necessary, nor is any woman required to mention the name of a person whom custom forbids her from naming, the notification clarified. Household members cannot restrict officers from accessing their house for data collection purposes and placing visual markers necessary for the census.

The notification also mentioned violations of the census process that may be punishable by fines and imprisonment. Census officers or authorised personnel who refuse, neglect or fail to perform their duties can face strict action. Individuals face penalties for actions, including intentionally providing false information or refusing to answer a census officer’s questions, denying an officer reasonable access to a home, removing, damaging or altering official census markers at their residence, failing to complete the required census forms and trespassing in a census office.

These violations are punishable by a fine of Rs 1,000 and, in case of conviction, the penalty includes imprisonment for up to three years. Separately, whoever abets any offence would be punishable with a fine of up to Rs 1,000, according to the notification.