Shri George Kurian Launches Fully Digital Marine Fisheries Census 2025 in Kochi

PNS Bureau:- Union Minister of State for Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying, Shri George Kurian, today launched the Marine Fisheries Census (MFC) 2025 Household Enumeration and mobile apps VyAS–BHARAT and VyAS–SUTRA in Kochi, marking a historic digital transformation in India’s fisheries data collection.

The MFC 2025—jointly implemented by the Department of Fisheries and ICAR–Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute (CMFRI)—moves entirely from paper-based to real-time, geo-referenced digital enumeration, covering 1.2 million fisher households across 5,000 coastal villages in 13 coastal States and UTs.

Powered by multilingual mobile apps, the census ensures accuracy, transparency, and faster data processing. It will also gather expanded socio-economic data, including income, credit access, and welfare benefits, to enable targeted government interventions.

Highlighting the government’s tech-driven focus, Shri Kurian said scientific devices such as transponders and turtle excluder devices are being provided free to fishermen. He urged stakeholders to register on the NFDP portal for government benefits.

With the theme ‘Smart Census, Smarter Fisheries’, MFC 2025 sets a new benchmark for data-driven governance, empowering fisherfolk and strengthening the blue economy through innovation and inclusivity.(PNS)