NEW DELHI: Around 12 lakh households across 11 states and Union territories have self-enumerated so far for the houselisting operations (HLO) phase of Census 2027. More than half of these households availed of the self-enumeration facility in the past 4-5 days.With conclusion of the 15-day self-enumeration window on Wednesday across Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Goa, Karnataka, Odisha, NDMC and cantonment areas of Delhi NCR, Mizoram, Sikkim and Lakshadweep, the census field operations, involving house-to-house visits by the enumerators, in the eight states/UTs will begin on Thursday.These field operations will last a month, that is, till May 15. Given that 12 lakh households who have enumerated so far are only a minuscule percentage of the total population of the eight states, the enumerator visits will be crucial to capturing the complete and accurate data on housing conditions and household amenities.The HLO phase of the census forms an essential foundation for evidence-based planning and formulation of welfare and development programmes, a home ministry spokesperson said on Monday.Self-enumeration window is open till April 19 in Gujarat and Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu and till April 24 in Uttarakhand. It will commence on Monday in Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Haryana, Chandigarh, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh and on Friday in Bihar.Self-enumeration (SE) facility is being offered for the first time in Census 2027, which is also India’s first digital census. The Census 2027 handle had, in a post on X, put the number of households who had self-enumerated till April 10, at 5.7 lakh, which means that nearly 6.3 lakh enrolled between April 11 and 15.Residents who have completed self-enumeration should keep their self-enumeration ID (SE ID) ready and share it with the enumerator during the field visit, to complete the HLO process.All data collected under the Census Act, 1948, remains strictly confidential and is solely used for statistical purposes and for development planningCensus 2027 is being conducted using digital tools for the first time, while retaining the traditional door-to-door enumeration framework to ensure comprehensive and accurate coverage. During the field visits,,enumerators will use a dedicated mobile application to collect data digitally to ensure higher accuracy and faster processing.