New Delhi: The Government has kicked off preparations for Census 2027 with the publication of gazette notification dated June 16, expressing the intent to conduct Population Census, the Ministry of Home Affairs said on Tuesday. 

Replying to a question in Lok Sabha, Minister of State for Home Affairs Nityanand Rai said ahead of Census 2027, a two-day conference was held on July 3 and 4 to draft a roadmap for the exercise.

The conference was attended by Directors of Census Operations, senior officers from Directorates of Census Operations and officers from Office of Registrar General and Census Commissioner, India, the MoS said in a reply to questions from MPs Chamala Kiran Kumar Reddy, D K Aruna and Eatala Rajender.

The participants also discussed Census-related activities such as finalisation of frame of administrative units, collection of data through mobile apps, management and monitoring of census activities through Census Management and Monitoring System (CMMS) portal, self-enumeration and training of census functionaries, he said.

In reply to another question, MoS for Home Affairs Bandi Sanjay Kumar said that there are 1,71,689 Freedom Fighters who received a Central pension under the Swatantrata Sainik Samman Yojana (SSSY) till date. Of these, the maximum number of 24,905 is from Bihar-Jharkhand, followed by 22,472 from West Bengal.

In 2024-25, Rs 599.29 crore was disbursed under the scheme as compared to Rs 539. 67 crore in 2023-24, he said.

He said there are 13,212 pensioners who are still alive and receiving SSSY Samman pension.

There are 9,778 widows who are still alive and are receiving SSSY pension, the MoS said.

Pension is given to freedom fighters under SSSY if he or she had suffered a minimum imprisonment of six months in mainland jails before Independence.

Ex-Indian National Army (INA) personnel are also eligible for pension if the imprisonment/detention suffered by them was outside India for six months or more. In case of women and SC/ST freedom fighters, the minimum period of actual imprisonment for eligibility of pension is three months.

Pension is also given to any person who remained underground for six months or more, provided he was a proclaimed offender; one on whom an award for arrest/head was announced or one whose detention order was issued but not served.

A person who was interned in his home or externed from his district under the orders of the competent authority for six months or more is also eligible for the pension, added the MoS. (IANS)