Census is a joint effort by the Union and State Goverments in India. Under the Census
 Act, 1948, the Central Government notifies the intention of taking a Census and appoints
 the Census Commissioner for the country and the Directors of Census Operations for the
 States and Union Territories.  Thereafter, the concerned State Government is to notify
 the appointment of Census officers to conduct the Census in their respective
 jurisdictions under the guidance of the Director of Census notified as the Chief
 Principal Census Officer of the State. Accordingly, the District collectors have been
 appointed as the Principal Census Officers of the respective districts to conduct the
 Census of 2001. Deputy Collectors (General) have been notified as District Census
 Officers and RDOs as Sub Divisional Census Officers. Tahsildars, Secretaries of
 Corporations and Municipalities have been notified as Charge Officers and City/Town
 Census Officers for their respective jurisdictions. Divisional Forest Officers are the
 Divisional Forest Census Officers of the Forest areas.

     The preparation for Census of India 2001 started 3 years back by collecting
 details of changes in jurisdiction of administrative units since the last
 Census. This was required for preparing an updated list of administrative units.
 With the intention of publishing panchayat ward wise data and also village-wise data
 after the Census, the details of panchayat wards coming under each village was
 collected along with the notional maps showing these wards. After collecting
 the list of villages the rural and urban areas are demarcated.

     Census operations are conducted in two phases. House numbering and
 House listing in the first phase and actual population enumeration in the second
 phase. During the Househsting operations, all houses will be numbered, a
 layout map of the houses prepared and a questiormaire called House list schedule
 filled up.