Standing Committee on Statistics (SCoS)

What’s in today’s article?

• Why in News?
• The Statistical set-up of the Government of India
• NSO is Mandated with the Following Responsibilities
• About the Standing Committee on Statistics (SCoS)

Why in News?

• The Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) has replaced the Standing Committee on Economic Statistics (SCES) – tasked with examining economic indicators only, with a Standing Committee on Statistics (SCoS).
• The SCoS has a broader mandate to review the framework and results of all surveys conducted under the aegis of the National Statistical Office (NSO).

The Statistical set-up of the Government of India:

• The MoSPI came into existence as an Independent Ministry in 1999 after the merger of the Department of Statistics and the Department of Programme Implementation.
• The Ministry has two wings, one relating to Statistics and the other Programme Implementation.
• The Statistics Wing called the NSO consists of the Central Statistical Office (CSO), the Computer center and the National Sample Survey Office (NSSO).
• Besides these two wings, there is National Statistical Commission (NSC was created through a resolution) and one autonomous Institute – Indian Statistical Institute – an institute of National importance.

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NSO is Mandated with the Following Responsibilities:

• Acts as the nodal agency for planned development of the statistical system in the country.
• Coordinates the statistical work in respect of the Ministries/Departments of the Government of India.
• Prepares national accounts as well as publishes annual estimates of national product.
• Maintains liaison with international statistical organisations, such as the United Nations Statistical Division (UNSD), Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), IMF, ADB, FAO, ILO, etc.
• Compiles and releases the Index of Industrial Production (IIP) every month in the form of ‘quick estimates’.
• Conducts the Annual Survey of Industries (ASI).
• Provides statistical information to assess and evaluate the changes in the growth, composition and structure of the organised manufacturing sector.
• Organises and conducts periodic all-India Economic Censuses and follow-up enterprise surveys.

About the Standing Committee on Statistics (SCoS):

• It was formed in 2019 to provide a new internal oversight mechanism for official data, revamping a SCES.
• Need:
  • The development assumes significance amid sharp critiques of India’s statistical machinery by members of the Economic Advisory Council (EAC) to the PM.
  • The EAC’s chairperson (Bibek Debroy) had mooted an overhaul of the system and contended that the Indian Statistical Service has “little expertise in survey design”.
• Terms of reference:
  • To ensure more coverage, the panel can have up to 16 members.
  • To expand the mandate beyond economic data and advise the Ministry on technical aspects for all surveys, such as sampling, design, survey methodology and finalisation of results.
  • To identify data gaps that need to be filled by official statistics, along with an appropriate strategy to plug those gaps.
  • To explore the use of administrative statistics to improve data outcomes.
• Role to be played by NSC: While the panel will help finalise survey results, the NSC will have the ultimate authority to approve the publication of those results.

Q1: What is the National Sample Survey Office(NSSO)?

The National Sample Survey Office(NSSO) headed by a Director General is responsible for conducting large scale sample surveys in diverse fields on an All India basis. Primarily data are collected through nation-wide household surveys on various socio-economic subjects, Annual Survey of Industries (ASI), etc.

Source: Delay in census: Govt dissolves Standing Committee on Statistics