Aizawl: Mizoram has set its sights on becoming the first state to complete Census 2027, with preparations for the crucial population enumeration exercise taking centre stage at a state-level conference here on Saturday, officials said.

Chief Secretary Khilli Ram Meena chaired the one-day conference, where officials discussed preparations for Phase II of the census, including training, field-level arrangements and the enumeration of residents, including refugees, they said.

Speaking on the occasion, Meena called for the census to be conducted with utmost care and accuracy, adding that the data would play a crucial role in policymaking and in achieving the national vision of Viksit Bharat 2047.

He said Phase II would require greater effort than the first phase and urged district- and field-level officials to work with dedication and ensure the smooth and timely completion of the exercise.

The chief secretary also called on officials to strive to make Mizoram the first state to complete the exercise, as it had aimed to do during Phase I.

During the conference, Deputy Director of Census Operations Jamil R Swer explained the procedures for Phase II and the proposed training arrangements.

For the first time in India, Census 2027 provides a digital self-enumeration facility, allowing people to submit their household details online.

The option, introduced during Phase I, which covers house listing and the housing census, will also be available during Phase II, which focuses on population enumeration, officials said.

According to the schedule announced at the conference, self-enumeration will be conducted from January 10 to 24, 2027, followed by house-to-house enumeration from January 25 to February 28, they said.

A revision round will be held from March 1 to 5.

The exercise will also include caste enumeration for the first time.

The 16 Scheduled Castes in Mizoram will be counted, while refugees residing in the state will also be included in the census, they said.

Officials clarified that the inclusion of refugees in the census would not confer Indian citizenship on them.

It was mentioned at the conference that people who do not wish to share their Aadhaar numbers should not be compelled to do so.

Those who were excluded from the 2026 Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral roll for any reason will nevertheless be included in the census, officials said.

Training for master trainers, field trainers, enumerators and supervisors is scheduled to be completed in November, and each enumerator is expected to cover around 800 people, they said.

The Centre has allocated Rs 19.19 crore to Mizoram for conducting Phase II of Census 2027, officials said.