After a gap of 16 years since the last population count in 2011, Punjab has begun preparations for the 16th National Census, scheduled to start on May 15, marking India’s first fully digital population enumeration.Officials said the exercise would replace the traditional paper-based surveys with mobile applications and an online self-enumeration portal, enabling faster data collection and improved accuracy. The census was also expected to include detailed caste information, making it potentially the first comprehensive caste enumeration conducted as part of the national census since Independence.For the first time, citizens would have the option to self-enumerate their household details online before the door-to-door surveys began. Officials said the portal would remain open for 15 days from April 30 to May 14.Director of Census Operations in Punjab Dr Navjot Khosa said, “This is the first time when self-enumeration will be part of the exercise.”Enumerators would then carry out house-to-house visits to collect and verify the information. Nearly 65,000 enumerators and supervisors, are expected to be deployed. Each enumerator would survey 700-800 individuals, while one supervisor would oversee the work of six enumerators.According to an official circular issued by the Directorate of Census Operations, Punjab, a large-scale training programme for census officials began in the last week of February and would continue till May. The training focuses on the use of digital devices, mobile applications and the expanded questionnaire to be used in the census.The census will be conducted in two phases. The first phase, known as House-listing and Housing Census, will be carried out from May 15 to June 13. During this phase, information related to housing conditions, assets and amenities will be collected.The second phase, Population Enumeration, will take place from February 1 to 28 next year, when enumerators will record the demographic, social and economic particulars, including caste details.To ensure smooth implementation, pilot exercises have been conducted in Jalandhar, Amritsar and Malerkotla.