Panel warns data credibility at risk, flags gaps in statistical system

Cites inconsistent datasets, divergent methodologies and weak institutional oversight

- R SURYAMURTHY

Parliament has issued one of its starkest warnings yet on the credibility of the country's official statistics, saying persistent divergences across datasets, inconsistent methodologies and weak institutional authority are undermining the reliability of numbers that anchor key policy decisions.

In its 27th report reviewing the National Statistical Commission (NSC), the Standing Committee on Finance said India's statistical system-long held up as a backbone of governance-now faces "serious challenges of consistency, quality and coordination," with some of the most consequential indicators varying widely depending on the source.

The committee's findings point to chronic mismatches across ministries and States, especially in employment, welfare and disability data. In one example, estimates of workers under MGNREGA registered in State administrative systems did not align with national survey findings. MoSPI told the panel that the Periodic Labour Force Survey "is not tailored to specifically net workers engaged in MGNREGA," making direct comparisons unreliable even at the national level-an admission that two of India's most heavily used datasets cannot be read together. Similar discrepancies appear in disability statistics, where population counts differ by double-digit margins depending on whether they come from household surveys, census-linked sources or ministry-level registrations. The report notes that the NSC regularly "deliberates on issues relating to data quality, inconsistencies and duplication," but says the system still lacks the "standardisation, harmonisation and coherence" needed to reconcile datasets.