Govt. sets up a new panel to review all NSO data
Context
The Union government has established a new internal monitoring system for official data, modernizing the Standing Committee on Economic Statistics (SCES), which was established in late 2019 not long after the results of the most recent round of household surveys on consumption expenditure and employment were disregarded due to “data quality issues”.
What do we know about the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation?
- History:
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- On October 15, 1999, MoSPI was founded as an independent ministry.
- The Department of Statistics and the Department of Programme Implementation were combined to create it.
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- Wings of the Mospi
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- The National Statistical Office (NSO), which is one of MoSPI’s wings.
- Central Statistical Office (CSO): The task of gathering, compiling, evaluating, and disseminating official statistical data falls within the purview of the Central Statistical Office (CSO).
- Computer Center: Offers technical assistance and knowledge for statistical tasks.
- To obtain information on socioeconomic issues, the National Sample Survey Office (NSSO) conducts extensive sample surveys.
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- Wing for Programme Implementation:
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- Monitoring the execution of government initiatives is the Twenty Point Programme.
- The division responsible for monitoring infrastructure developments.
- The Project Monitoring Division keeps track of the development of numerous government initiatives.
- The Member of Parliament Local Area Development Scheme is responsible for managing the distribution of cash for construction projects in parliamentary districts.
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- National Statistical Commission:
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- created as a result of a government of India resolution.
- offers direction and counsel on statistical issues.
- plays a vital part in the nation’s statistical system development.
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- India Statistical Institute (ISI):
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- an independent institution designated as a national centre of academic excellence by a parliamentary act.
- involved in statistical method creation, training, and research in India.
Why and how is SCES revamped to SCoS?
- The Standing Committee on Economic Statistics (SCES), which was founded in late 2019, has come under fire for surveys performed in the past under the auspices of India’s National Statistical Office (NSO) that had poor data quality.
- The administration made the decision to replace the SCES with the Standing Committee on Statistics (SCoS), which has a broader mission, to allay the worries and enhance the statistical apparatus.
- The SCoS is made up of notable academics as well as 10 official members and 4 non-official members. The committee’s chairwoman has been chosen: Pronab Sen, the first chief statistician of India and a former head of the National Statistical Commission (NSC).
- Members of the Economic Advisory Council, particularly Bibek Debroy, who called for an overhaul of India’s statistics apparatus, emphasized the necessity of the SCoS.
- The SCoS was established in part to respond to criticisms about the Indian Statistical Service’s alleged lack of technical skill in survey design and methodology.
- All surveys carried out by the NSO must have their framework and results reviewed by the SCoS to guarantee the validity and reliability of the data.
- The SCoS is also tasked with identifying data gaps in official statistics and formulating plans to close them. This entails determining whether more surveys or data collection techniques are required to obtain complete and accurate statistical data.
- To increase the precision and effectiveness of data results, the committee is also required to investigate the use of administrative statistics, which are obtained from administrative records and databases.
What is the role of this new group?
- Expanded Mandate and advisory role: In comparison to the SCES, the SCoS has “enhanced terms of reference” and a broader mandate. Its job is to provide technical guidance to the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation on all survey-related issues, such as sampling design, methodology, and results finalization.
- Addressing the gaps: Identifying data gaps that must be filled by official statistics is one of the SCoS’s responsibilities in addition to serving as an advisory body. It is required to create plans to close those gaps and investigate the usage of administrative statistics to enhance data results.
- approving a request: The National Statistical Commission (NSC) has the final say in whether the survey results can be published, notwithstanding the SCoS’s assistance in that process.
