Lok Sabha Question No. 2720 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2024-12-11
Subject: Accuracy/Transparency in Government Statistics
Ministry: STATISTICS AND PROGRAMME IMPLEMENTATION
Asked by: Shri Rajesh Ranjan

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF STATISTICS AND PROGRAMME IMPLEMENTATION

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2720

## TO BE ANSWERED ON 11.12.2024

## ACCURACY/TRANSPARENCY IN GOVERNMENT STATISTICS

## 2720. SHRI RAJESH RANJAN:

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

- (a) the measures undertaken by the Government to address issues with the accuracy and transparency of official statistics, particularly in areas such as employment and economic growth;
- (b) the  steps  taken  to  standardise  data  collection  methodologies and  definitions  across  various  Government  agencies  to  ensure consistency and reliability of statistical data; and
- (c) whether the Government has engaged with independent experts and stakeholders for the review and validation of official statistics,  to  ensure  credibility  and  public  trust  in  Government
- data and if so, the details thereof?

## 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  CULTURE  [RAO INDERJIT SINGH]

- (a): National  Statistics  Office  (NSO)  under  MoSPI  is  committed  to ensuring accurate and reliable data from the target population while minimizing  non-sampling  errors.  To  achieve  this,  robust  and  welldefined  mechanisms  are  employed  in  different  statistical  products which  undergo  periodic  improvements  based  on  evolving  needs, feedback,  and  advancements  in  methodologies  to  enhance  their effectiveness.  The  primary  data  collection  is  being  done  in  digital platform using Computer Assisted Personal Interview (CAPI) or webbased application with in-built validation mechanism  to ensure
- consistency at the stage of data collection. The accuracy of the data is ensured by multi-level data scrutiny and validation checks. A robust training mechanism is followed to address the conceptual queries and monitoring  the  data  quality.  MoSPI  places  a  strong  emphasis  on transparency  and  public  accountability.  To  ensure  the  same,  the  eSankhyiki  portal  of  MoSPI  provides  a  comprehensive  system  for managing  and  sharing  data,  facilitating  the  easy  dissemination  of official  statistics  across  the  country,  with  an  aim  to  provide  timely and  valuable  data  inputs  for  policymakers,  researchers  and  the general public. (b) MoSPI  being  nodal  agency  for  planned  development  of  the statistical  system  in  the  country  is  also  responsible  for  maintaining the highest standards of data quality which adhere to basic guidelines of International Agencies. NSO, MoSPI lays down and maintains norms and  standards  in  the  field  of  statistics,  involving  concepts  and definitions,  methodology  of  data  collection,  processing  of  data  and dissemination  of  results.  In  this  sequence,  MoSPI  has  circulated  its publication  namely  Data Dissemination:  National  Metadata  Structure (NMDS) prepared after due consultation with the stakeholders of the National Statistical System (NSS) with an aim to promote harmonised quality reporting across NSS, and, thus, to facilitate crosscomparisons of processes and outputs. This publication applies to all the  stakeholders  of  NSS  and  others  in  their  roles  as  producers, compilers and disseminators of Indian official statistics. The concerned line Ministry/department are also deliberated from time to time  in  order  to  ensure  that  the  definitions  used  by  these  line Ministries/ departments are uniformly adopted to the extent possible. (c): For  the  purpose  of  reviewing  and  validating  official  statistics, MoSPI has constituted Committees/Working Groups (WG) which consist  of  expert  members  from  various  spheres  such  as  Central Ministries/Departments,  State/UTs,  academia,  research,  economics, finance,  etc.  Further,  these  Committees/WGs  may  also  enlist  the assistance  of  subject  matter  experts  within  and/  or  outside  the Government  and  may  co-opt  them  as  members  in  order  to  meet specific requirements. Regular dialogues with data users/stakeholders are also conducted in order to incorporate their feedback and enhance their understanding about the data being published by MoSPI.

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