Lok Sabha Question No. 792 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2024-02-07
Subject: Outdated Survey Methodologies
Ministry: STATISTICS AND PROGRAMME IMPLEMENTATION
Asked by: Sanjay(Kaka) Ramchandra Patil

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF STATISTICS AND PROGRAMME IMPLEMENTATION

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 792 TO BE ANSWERED ON 07.02.2024

## OUTDATED SURVEY METHODOLOGIES

792.  SHRI SANJAY KAKA PATIL:

Will the Minister of STATISTICS AND PROGRAMME IMPLEMENTATION be pleased to state:

- (a) whether the Ministry is aware of the concerns raised by experts over  the  outdated  survey  methodologies  used  in  national  surveys, such as the National Sample Survey (NSS), National Family Health Survey (NFHS) and Periodic Labour Force Survey(PLFS);
- (b) if so, the steps the ministry has taken or plans to undertake to review the methodologies of national surveys; and
- (c) the steps the Ministry has taken to minimize errors in cases of representation discrepancies in rural and urban areas?

## ANSWER

MINISTER OF STATE (INDEPENDENT CHARGE) OF THE MINISTRY OF STATISTICS  AND  PROGRAMME  IMPLEMENTATION,  MINISTER  OF STATE (INDEPENDENT CHARGE) OF THE MINISTRY OF PLANNING AND MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF CORPORATE AFFAIRS [RAO INDERJIT SINGH]

- (a) and (b): The concerns raised by experts over the representativeness of National Sample Surveys was brought to the notice  of  Ministry  of  Statistics  and  PI  and  the  same  has  been examined by the Ministry in consultation with domain experts and reputed statisticians. It has been found that the concerns raised on the  NSS  sampling  design  are  not  tenable,  since  the  conclusions drawn have been based on the assessment of sampling design with faulty application inapplicable method/approach.

Further,  for  designing  survey  instruments,  deciding  on  the sampling  method  to  be  adopted  and  determining  sample  sizes  for generation of estimates in NSS surveys, the guidelines as stipulated in the UN  Handbook, 'Designing Household Survey Samples: Practical Guidelines' are adhered to. Est imates of primary indicators derived from various NSS surveys are statistically efficient, consistent, robust and representative with Relative Standard Error (RSE)  within  the  acceptable  limits  of  error.  The  methodologies followed  in  various  NSS  surveys  have  been  finalized  under  the guidance  of  committees  of  experts  and  are  regularly  updated depending on the objective of the survey, availability of resources and other operational aspects.

With regard to National Family Health Survey (NFHS) conducted by Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, the scope and content of the  survey  in  each  round  has  undergone  expansion  as  per  the requirements and to provide relevant data to measure the progress made in the SDG indicators. Over the different rounds, the sampling design  also  has  been  modified  to  cater  to  the  need  for  providing estimates at not only National and State level but also district level.

(c): In  NSS  surveys,  the  sampling  frame  for  drawing  sample  for urban sector is the list of Urban Frame Survey (UFS) blocks as UFS 2017-22 and for rural sector, it is the list of villages as per Census 2011 updated by removing those villages which are urbanized and included in latest UFS (till the time of sample selection). The updation UFS Frame is carried out on continuous basis, thereby the urban and rural frames are updated regularly. During surveys, within each of the selected final village or urban block, all the households are listed and this serves as the sampling frame for selection of ultimate stage units with the latest population as on the date of survey.  Therefore, the urban and rural frames used in NSS surveys ensure relevance and representativeness of the sampling frame.

In  case  of  NFHS,  the  sampling  design  ensures  accurate representation across various strata of the society including urban/rural areas.

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