Monday, Oct 04, 2004
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By Alok Mukherjee
NEW DELHI, OCT. 3. Is the Indian economy really growing at the rate which successive Governments have claimed? A Parliamentary Committee has raised doubts about the quality of data collected by the Central Statistical Organisation (CSO). In a recent report to Parliament, the Standing Committee on Finance has taken serious note of the fact that no tangible improvement has been made in the timely and qualitative collection of data. "The CSO has reportedly been unable to maintain statistical standards due to ineffective statistical coordination with other Central Ministries and departments, some of which do not even have statistical cells and professional statisticians. The result has been that surveys are conducted one after another at their own level, resulting in collection of sub-standard data which can hardly be relied upon," the report said.
Pathetic situation
"As regards data collection in the States, the situation is even more pathetic. Most of the statistical data in the States is generated at the level of the Block Development Officers and approved by the Agriculture Production Commission in the State capital who is the final authority," the Committee said. There is little scope for checks to ascertain whether data reported is factual or whether it was actually reported.
Lack of trained people
Most of the economic data, on the basis of which official policies and programmes are formulated, is coordinated by the CSO. It compiles national accounts, the index of industrial production, the consumer price indices for urban non-manual employees, the human development statistics, including gender statistics, the conduct of annual survey of industries and economic census. Government officials briefing the Standing Committee admitted that only a few ministries had trained statisticians heading statistical cells. Their data collection is subject to the standards laid down by the Ministry of Programme Implementation and Statistics. Ministries which do not have trained statisticians conduct their own surveys and later ask for reconciliation of the results by the Programme Implementation and Statistics Ministry, leading to delays and duplication of work.
Data in States
Officials expressed concern about data collection in the States because the bulk of data is available there. To get over the problem, an amendment to the Collection of Statistics Act was suggested which would empower the Central and State governments to obtain data from any citizen through an order. The officials also informed the Committee that attempts to outsource some statistical functions did not succeed because there were not enough people who could do the job according to standards set. The Committee noted that a World Bank-funded project on the `Modernisation of Statistical System in India' had been long-delayed. It directed that efforts be made to implement the scheme.
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