State Census offices told to monitor online narratives

RG&CCI Mritunjay Kumar Narayan wrote to the State Directorates saying that they may depute effective 24/7 teams for handling social media accounts along with “content creation capabilities”. File

| Photo Credit: The Hindu

The Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India (RG&CCI) has directed the Census Directorates in States to “monitor social media narratives round the clock” to flag propaganda and false narratives against the ongoing Census exercise.The first phase of Census 2027 – the House Listing and Housing Operations (HLO) – kicked off on April 1 in eight States and Union Territories. Prior to that, the RG&CCI had launched a self-enumeration portal. The online enumeration will be followed by a door-to-door visit by the Census enumerators from April 15 where the details will be verified.On March 19, RG&CCI Mritunjay Kumar Narayan wrote to the State Directorates saying that they may depute effective 24/7 teams for handling social media accounts along with “content creation capabilities”.The letter added, “As the HLO operations begin, it will be crucial to monitor social media narratives around the clock for any adverse comments/propaganda items/false narratives, so that they can be countered/fact-checked in real time through State/UT Directorate or field functionaries, with intimation to the ORGI (Office of the Registrar General & Census Commissioner, India).”Mr. Narayan added that for the successful enumeration in 2027, it is crucial that adequate publicity measures are undertaken to raise awareness among people about the Census.The second phase of the Census, the Population Enumeration, which will also enumerate caste, will conclude by February 28, 2027, in all States and UTs, except Ladakh and hill-bound areas of Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand. In these places, the second phase will be completed by September 30, 2026.Confidential infoMr. Narayan said the publicity campaign will not only inform people about the questions that will be asked in the two phases but also reassure them that all information will be kept confidential, fostering trust and confidence in the process. “The use of a mix of media, including radio, television, newspapers, and social media will be instrumental in sensitising the public and ensuring accurate data collection, as demonstrated in previous Censuses,” he added.In 2020, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) informed a parliamentary panel that the “right kind of messaging will be done to tackle the miscommunication and rumours around the National Population Register (NPR) and Census.”Census, a decennial exercise, was last held in 2011. The NPR was also first compiled that year.The first phase of Census and the NPR were initially to be rolled out in some States on April 1, 2020, but were postponed indefinitely due to the COVID-19 pandemic.Following the protests related to the NPR and its link to the proposed National Register of Citizens (NRC) and the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), 2019, the government had decided not to update the NPR during the present Census. Published - April 13, 2026 09:58 pm IST