Lok Sabha Question No. 1993 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2026-02-11
Subject: Strengthening Evidence-Based Policymaking and Planning
Ministry: STATISTICS AND PROGRAMME IMPLEMENTATION
Asked by: Shri Ganesh Singh

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF STATISTICS AND PROGRAMME IMPLEMENTATION

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1993

TO BE ANSWERED ON 11.02.2026

## STRENGTHENING EVIDENCE-BASED POLICYMAKING AND PLANNING

1993. SHRI GANESH SINGH:

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

- (a)   the  major  initiatives  has  taken  by  the  Government  to  strengthen evidence-based policy making and planning;
- (b)  whether  the  Government  propose  to  launch  capacity-building  and training  programme (digital  tools,  data  analytics  and  data  governance) structured for officers/field staff in order to ensure data collection and quality at district, block and Gram Panchayat level so that evidence-based scheme-building promoted at local level too and if so, the details thereof; and
- (c) whether the Government propose to develop data capacity-building, district-level analytics units or custom dashboard on pilot basis in Satna district of Madhya Pradesh including various other districts over there?

## ANSWER

THE 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 OF THE MINISTRY OF CULTURE [RAO INDERJIT SINGH]

- (a)  The Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) has undertaken  several  significant  major  reforms  to  strengthen  evidencebased  policymaking  and  planning  by  enhancing  the  quality,  frequency, timeliness, granularity, harmonization, and accessibility of official statistics. A major focus has been the modernization of National Sample Surveys  through  the  adoption  of  digital  platforms  such  as  Computer

Assisted  Personal  Interview  (CAPI)  integrated  with  e-SIGMA  platform incorporating in-built validation checks, AI-enabled chatbots, and multilingual interfaces etc. MoSPI has launched short duration surveys to cater the emerging need for high-frequency socio-economic indicators. Significant  reforms  have  also  been  undertaken  in  macroeconomic statistics,  including  base  revision  of  Gross  Domestic  Product  (GDP), Consumer Price Index (CPI) and Index of Industrial Production (IIP). MoSPI has  undertaken  comprehensive  data harmonization/ standardization initiatives which  inter-alia includes adoption  of  National  Metadata Structure (NMDS 2.0), introduction of the Statistical Quality Assessment Framework (SQAF), alignment with national and international classification standards.

Data dissemination and accessibility have been significantly enhanced through  the  revamped  MoSPI  website,  GoIStats  mobile  application,  eSankhyiki portal, Microdata Portal and the use of APIs for data exchange. MoSPI has also strengthened stakeholder engagement through data user conferences, consultations, workshops, and feedback mechanisms and promoting research and innovation through collaborations with academic institutions.

(b)  &  (c)  Further,  MoSPI supports State/ UTs to enhance their capacity building  through  its  Support  for  Statistical  Strengthening  (SSS)  SubScheme which aims to improve/ strengthen the statistical capacity and operations of the state statistical system for collecting, compiling and disseminating reliable official statistics at sub-state level. Additionally, National Statistical Systems Training Academy (NSSTA) a premier Central Training Institute under MoSPI organizes different training programmes on regular basis on "Official Statistics  and related fields" including digital tools, data analytics and data governance for the capacity building of the Statistical  personnel  of  Central  and  State/UT  Governments  to  ensure better data collection from the field.

*****