Geotagging in India’s 2027 Census: Process, Benefits & Implementation

Geotagging in Census Latest News

• India’s 2027 Census will introduce several firsts, including digital enumeration, self-enumeration, and caste counting after 1931. 
• A major innovation will be geotagging of all buildings across the country. Each structure will be assigned precise GPS coordinates using mobile devices, ensuring accurate mapping of households and institutions. 
• This will help remove duplication, improve coverage, and create a reliable spatial database to aid urban planning, infrastructure development, and better targeting of welfare schemes.

About Geotagging

• Geotagging is the process of marking a building’s exact latitude-longitude coordinates on a Geographic Information System (GIS) map. 
• A GIS is a computer system that records, checks, and displays data linked to specific positions on Earth’s surface. 
• Latitudes (horizontal lines) measure north-south distance from the equator, while longitudes (vertical lines) measure east-west distance from the prime meridian in Greenwich, UK. 
• Together, these create a grid that allows any location to be uniquely identified. 
• Through this system, geotagging assigns each building a precise locational identity that can be accurately pinpointed.

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Number of Buildings in India (Census 2011)

• In Census 2011, a ‘Census House’ was defined as any building or part of a building with a separate main entrance, used as a distinct unit. 
• Such houses could be occupied or vacant, and used for residential, non-residential, or mixed purposes. 
• The Census recorded 330.84 million houses across India, of which 306.16 million were occupied and 24.67 million vacant. 
• Rural areas accounted for 220.70 million houses, while 110.14 million were in urban areas.

How Geotagging Will Be Conducted in Census 2027

• Geotagging will take place during the Houselisting Operations (HLO), the first phase of the Census scheduled for April–September 2026. 
• The second phase, Population Enumeration (will begin in February 2027) will record demographic, socioeconomic, and cultural details.
  • In Ladakh, Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, and Uttarakhand, it will begin earlier in September 2026.

Role of Enumerators

• Enumerators will visit all buildings within their assigned Houselisting Blocks (HLBs) — clearly demarcated areas in villages or town wards with notional maps. 
• Using Digital Layout Mapping (DLM) and smartphone apps, they will switch on location services and geotag each building.
• The exercise will record the number of Census Houses and Households in each building. 
• Buildings will be classified as residential, non-residential, partly residential, or landmarks.

Definition of Household

• As per Census 2011, a household is a group of people normally living together and sharing meals from a common kitchen, unless prevented by work conditions.

Benefits of Geotagging in the Census

• Geotagging during the Census will provide accurate estimates of Census houses and households, ensuring better workload distribution for enumerators. 
• Unlike earlier Censuses that relied on hand-drawn sketches, digital geotagging offers precision and efficiency. 
• The government already uses geotagging on a smaller scale, such as for tracking houses built under Pradhan Mantri Awaas Yojana (PMAY) in rural and urban areas, demonstrating its practical usefulness.

Source: IE | JJ