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Bhubaneswar: Celebrated sand artist from Odisha Sudarsan Pattnaik has been appointed as the brand ambassador for the upcoming National Census 2027.

An official notification confirming the appointment has been issued by the Ministry of Home Affair, entrusting the Padma Shri awardee with the responsibility of raising public awareness ahead of the nationwide exercise.

Pattnaik, a globally acclaimed sand sculptor from Puri, will now lead efforts to educate and mobilise citizens about the importance of participating in the census. As the brand ambassador, he is expected to make the awareness campaign more impactful, particularly by incorporating his signature sand art to convey key messages. Through creative sand sculptures, Pattnaik aims to highlight the significance of the census in an engaging and accessible manner, encouraging widespread cooperation.

In Odisha, the first phase of the census, focusing on house listing and marking, is scheduled to run from April 16 to May 15, 2026, with a voluntary 15-day online self-enumeration option starting April 1, 2026. The second phase, a door-to-door population survey, is set for February 2027.

Census 2027, which will recast the decennial headcount as a fully digital enterprise, will be India’s 16th census overall and the 8th since independence. This exercise will include detailed information on caste and socio-economic status for the first time in recent history, which is expected to have a significant impact on the country’s political and social framework. The findings will also guide the delimitation of constituencies, influencing representation in the Lok Sabha and state assemblies.

The last census was conducted in 2011, while the 2021 census was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.