Indian Official Statistics: Part-II

In the previous article “Indian Official Statistics: Part I”, we learnt about what does “Indian Official Statistics” mean and what is the degree of centralisation of offices. In this article, we will learn about different statistical offices in different parts of India.

The location of statistical offices is divided into two parts:

1. Statistical Offices at the Centre
2. Statistical Offices in the States

First, we will learn about “Statistical Offices at the Centre”.

1. Statistical Offices at the Centre

Most of the Central Government Ministries collect and use statistics in their respective fields and have their own statistical units. Some of these units, which are located in administrative departments, are engaged in the processing of data that come up purely as a by-product of day-to-day administration.

There are some other units which are located in departments set up to control production and distribution of commodities and utility services. Some of the most important of these organisations are the following:

1. Central Statistical Organisation (CSO): The CSO was set up by the Government of India in 1951 as a part of Cabinet Secretariat and having co-ordinating and advisory functions. It co-ordinates statistical activities of the various Government departments at the Centre and in the States, plays an advisory role in statistical matters, provides national statistics to the United Nations and its specialised agencies, and brings out publications presenting all-India statistics on all principle aspects of national life.

In more recent years, it has set up a separate unit to attend to statistical work relating to the five-year plans in collaborating with the Planning Commission and has expanded training facilities for statistical personnel. Since the formation of Department of Statistics in the Cabinet Secretariat in 1961, the CSO has been functioning has a part of this Department. But the Department itself was put under the Ministry of Planning Evaluation in 1999.

The CSO is also responsible for the compilation and publication of national income statistics. The CSO, through its Industrial Statistics Wing, conducts the Annual Survey of Industries and publishes the results. The most important publications of the CSO are (i)           the Statistical Abstract-India (annual)

(ii)        the Monthly Abstract of Statistics

1. National Sample Survey Organisation (NSSO): The National Sample Survey (NSS) was started in 1950 as a multipurpose continuing survey for collecting information on all aspects of the Indian economy. It caters to the data needs of the National Income Committee, the Planning Commission and the various Ministries of the Government. Originally under the control of the Ministry of Finance, the Directorate of NSS was transferred to the Cabinet Secretariat in 1957. In 1969 the Directorate was turned into the National Sample Survey Organisation (NSSO), which, like the CSO, came under the Department of Statistics in the Ministry of Planning.

The NSS is being conducted ever since its inception in the form of successive rounds. Till the 13^th round, the field enquiries were of varying duration, ranging from three to six months. The survey period has been made a full year since the 14^th round. Each round now coincides with the agricultural year.

The important publications of the NSSO are

(i)                  the reports on the various rounds of the NSS and

(ii)                the quarterly bulletin Sarvekshana

1. Office of the Registrar-General: With the creation of the permanent post of Registrar-General, the Registrar-General started functioning as ex-officio Census Commissioner. But the work of collection, compilation, publication and improvement of vital statistics continued to be handled by the Ministry of Health. This work was transferred to the Office of the Registrar-General in 1960.

A Sample Registration Scheme (SRS) has been undertaken to get reliable estimate of birth and death rates and a Model Registration Scheme to have estimates of cause-of-death rates.

The main publication of the RGI:

(i)                  The Census of India reports,

(ii)                Vital Statistics of India (annual)

(iii)               Sample Registration Bulletin (quarterly)

(to be continued in next article)