Over a lakh enumerators, 15,000 supervisors: How Odisha is gearing up for Census

According to sources, primary school teachers are likely to serve as enumerators, each assigned about 200 households comprising roughly 700–800 people. For smooth conduct, every group of six enumerators will have one supervisor, while tehsildars and other district-level officials will oversee the operation.

In Odisha, the Census will be conducted in Odia and English. The exercise will also allow self-enumeration, enabling residents to submit information through the official Census website using an OTP-based mobile authentication process.

“There has been adequate provision for data security, and each mobile number can be used only once to submit data,” the Director said.

Ahead of the Census, the state government has already fixed administrative boundaries of newly created civic bodies to ensure accurate data collection.

Phase one will involve the Houselisting Operation (HLO), with enumerators identifying every building and household and collecting data on housing conditions, assets and amenities. Phase two, involving Population Enumeration (PE)—the collection of demographic, socio-economic, cultural and other details of every individual—will begin on February 1, 2027.