Centre Sets Up Panel To Review And Advise On Country's Survey Methodology

The government has now renamed and expanded the scope of coverage of the Standing Committee on Economic Statistics (SCES), which was formed in December 2019.

It will now be called the Standing Committee on Statistics (SCoS) and its renewed objective is to review the existing data framework and address issues related to all surveys.

Dr. Pronab Sen, former Chief Statistician and former Chairman of the National Statistical Commission, will serve as the chairperson of the committee.

The committee's terms of reference (ToR) include reviewing the current framework and addressing any issues raised regarding subject, results, methodology, and more. It will also provide advice on survey methodology, such as sampling frame and design, and finalize the tabulation plan of surveys.

Additionally, the committee will be responsible for finalizing survey results.

According to Dr. Pronab Sen, the committee's main function is to ensure that all data collected in the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) meets the standards of good statistics. It will be involved in designing data collection and production efforts.

The committee has been given the mandate to provide guidance for conducting pilot surveys and pre-testing, if necessary, before finalizing data collection schedules. It will also provide guidance on studying and exploring the availability of administrative statistics related to surveys, as well as identifying data gaps and additional requirements.

The committee can also offer technical guidance to central and state-level agencies for surveys involving participation from states.

The establishment of a new committee coincides with a period of criticism directed at India's statistical system. Notably, three members of the Economic Advisory Council to the PM (EAC-PM) - Chairman Bibek Debroy and members Shamika Ravi and Sanjeev Sanyal - have raised concerns regarding the same.

Shamika Ravi, in a recent column for The Indian Express, questioned the quality of survey data in India. She emphasized the importance of conducting regular surveys with high-quality standards to estimate poverty, growth, employment, and unemployment accurately and in a timely manner.

One of Ravi's key points was that major surveys conducted in India after 2011, which used the Census 2011 as a sampling frame, have significantly overestimated the proportion of the rural population. She argued that these surveys are not representative due to outdated sampling frames and mechanisms that are ill-equipped to handle rapid changes.

Ravi expressed concern that these misleading estimates hinder policy-making and create a gap between ground realities and survey results.

In response to the criticism, Dr. Pronab Sen had countered that the critique of sample surveys was misplaced. He explained that the variation in data compared to the Census count is due to different definitions used.

The initial SCES, which was established in December 2019, consisted of 28 members. Its main objective was to review the framework for economic indicators related to the industrial sector, services sector, and labor force statistics.

This included analyzing datasets such as the Periodic Labour Force Survey, Annual Survey of Industries, Annual Survey of Services Sector Enterprises, Annual Survey of Unorganised Sector Enterprises, Time Use Survey, Index of Service Production, Index of Industrial Production, and Economic Census.

The new SCoS will now be responsible for reviewing all surveys.

Currently, the SCoS is composed of 14 members, including four non-official members, nine official members, and a member secretary. The committee can have a total of 16 members, with the possibility of extending this number based on future requirements.