How Good Data Sharpens India's Policy Approach

Over 75 years, National Sample Surveys have informed govt decisions with crucial insights. Their impact on employment, education and welfare schemes has been invaluable

- S Chandrasekhar

Good data not only helps formulate strategy, but also reduces the risk of policy paralysis. Over the last 75 years, data produced as part of the National Sample Survey (NSS) has punched above its weight in this regard. The first survey was conducted between October 1950 and March 1951. As we celebrate the diamond jubilee of the NSS, it is an opportune time to acknowledge its track record in shaping the narrative on how to improve the well-being of rural and urban households.

Good data needs to inform on the emerging weaknesses in the economy. Take the female labour force participation rate (LFPR). Google Scholar throws up 107 results for a combined search of 'female', 'labour force participation', 'India', and 'NSS' for the time period 1991-2000. This number goes up to 342 for 2001-2010, and further to 1,240 over the period 2011-2020. This means the number of documents that either used NSS data or referred to it while discussing female LFPR in India grew exponentially.

One is naturally curious to know the reasons for the sudden increase in discussion around the female LFPR. It is the ratio of the women working or seeking work to the total number of women. Estimates from the Employment and Unemployment Survey conducted in 2004-05 and 2011-12 indicated that the women's participation had declined from 25 to 18 percent in rural India, while it marginally declined from 15 to 13.6 percent in urban India over that time period.

This led to research on whether firms were unwilling to hire women or whether women were unwilling to participate in the labour market. Recent evidence from the Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS), which is being conducted annually from 2017-18, is that LFPR has increased in rural India, but more women are working as unpaid help at home or family enterprises.