Congress alleges ‘RSS employment scheme’ as Centre opens Census enumerator posts to private individuals

The notification expanded the pool of people who may conduct Census enumeration. Previously, the work was mainly handled by government schoolteachers, revenue officials and other State government employees. The change allows private schoolteachers and members of institutions, societies and trusts to be appointed as enumerators.

The key mechanism is a broader interpretation of the Census Rules, 1990. Those rules already contained the category “any person,” but the Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India formally broadened the categories on October 16, 2026. This creates a legal route to recruit people outside government service.

The government faces a large staffing requirement for Population Enumeration in February 2027. Teachers are also needed for examinations, elections and electoral-roll revision. The change could help fill vacancies, but it has prompted political criticism and court challenges from private schools concerned about deploying their staff.

A Census enumerator is an official or authorised person who collects household and population information for the Census. During Population Enumeration, enumerators visit homes, ask the prescribed questions and record the answers for each household and its members. Their work turns individual responses into national population data.

The Census 2027 exercise will use door-to-door enumeration. The questionnaire will contain 40 questions, including some asked for the first time. These cover matters such as spouse’s name, nationality, parents’ particulars, digital literacy, permanent address and COVID-19 vaccination place. Respondents will also report documents, accounts and devices.

Enumerators therefore have a central role in making the Census complete and accurate. Around 34 lakh will be needed for the Population Enumeration phase in February 2027. The government is widening recruitment because many government teachers already have examination, election or electoral-roll responsibilities.

The immediate reason is a shortage of available government personnel for Census work. Government schoolteachers have traditionally supplied much of the enumerator workforce, but their numbers have not increased in proportion to India’s population, according to former Census official K. Narayanan Unni. This leaves the government needing additional people.

The pressure is especially high because Population Enumeration begins in February 2027, alongside annual and board examinations. In poll-bound States, door-to-door work runs from December 1 to January 4, followed by Assembly elections. Government teachers will be assigned election duty, while many are already Booth Level Officers for electoral-roll revision.

Recruiting private teachers and other eligible people is intended to close this staffing gap. Around 34 lakh enumerators are required. However, private schools have challenged requests to deploy their staff, and the Punjab and Haryana High Court granted interim relief in one Haryana case.

Census 2027’s Population Enumeration phase will need around 34 lakh enumerators across the country. This is the door-to-door stage in which household and population details are collected. The scale explains why the government is considering people beyond its usual workforce of government teachers and officials.

Each household will face a questionnaire containing 40 questions. The questions cover personal, family and identity-related information. New subjects include spouse’s name, nationality, parents’ particulars and their dates and places of birth, digital literacy, permanent residential address and COVID-19 vaccination place. Respondents will also be asked about bank accounts and identity documents.

The phase will be conducted in February 2027 and will form part of India’s first digital Census. It will also be the first Census since Independence to count castes other than Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes. The larger questionnaire increases the importance of adequate staffing and careful data collection.

The overlap creates a practical staffing problem. Population Enumeration is scheduled for February 2027, when annual school and board examinations are also taking place. Teachers assigned to Census duties may be unavailable for teaching, examination preparation or invigilation. Schools could struggle to maintain normal academic operations.

The timing is tighter in Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Punjab and Goa. Door-to-door enumeration there begins on December 1 and ends on January 4, 2027, before Assembly elections. Government teachers will then be placed on election duty. Many are also serving as Booth Level Officers for the special intensive revision of electoral rolls.

These simultaneous responsibilities could reduce the pool of trained personnel, complicate scheduling and increase pressure on those assigned. The government is responding by allowing private teachers and other people to serve. Yet private schools have challenged deployment requests, showing that recruitment may not automatically solve the coordination problem.

Using private individuals marks a departure because previous Censuses mainly relied on government schoolteachers, revenue officials and other State employees. The article reports no precedent for private people carrying out enumeration work. A similar suggestion for the 1991 Census was not accepted.

The central concern was accountability. Government employees operate within established administrative structures, while private personnel may raise questions about supervision, responsibility for mistakes and protection of Census information. The former Census official did not describe a new accountability system in the notification, so those concerns remain relevant to implementation.

The change follows pressure to find enough personnel. Private teachers in Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra and Haryana had already challenged deployment during the Houselisting Operations. In Haryana, the Punjab and Haryana High Court stayed two government communications seeking teachers’ details and granted interim relief to private unaided schools. The new policy therefore expands capacity but also invites scrutiny.

A population Census is a systematic count of a country’s residents and households, together with information about their characteristics. Enumerators collect standard answers so the country can understand population size, composition and distribution. This creates a common evidence base for public administration and demographic analysis.

Census data can guide decisions about schools, healthcare, housing, transport, welfare and other public services by showing where people live and what populations need. It also helps reveal patterns involving age, family structures, migration, identity and social groups. Census 2027’s questionnaire will include 40 questions and several new categories of information.

The exercise matters especially because Census 2027 will be India’s first digital Census and the first since Independence to enumerate castes beyond Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes. Around 34 lakh enumerators are required. Their accuracy and coverage will affect how useful this new national demographic record becomes.