State-level statistical surveys serve a worthy purpose

India's ministry of statistics and programme implementation (MoSPI) has commenced celebrations to commemorate 75 years of the National Sample Survey Office (NSSO), India's premier agency for all-India statistical surveys.

- HIMANSHU

Established back in 1950, the NSSO has earned the reputation of a fine survey agency globally. To its credit, it has served as a role model for many other countries, not just in the developing world, but also in the developed.

During its long journey, the NSSO has faced criticism and controversies, particularly over the past three decades. The first of these was around its 1999-00 consumption survey. But the agency weathered that storm by boldly releasing unit-level data to the public. That let researchers from India and overseas examine the issues involved. The end result was a rich trove of literature on various details, including the 'recall period' used for consumption and other elements of poverty measurement. All this gave us the 'Great Indian Poverty Debate'.

The second big dust-up was over the consumption survey of 2017-18. However, this time, the agency withdrew the entire survey, although its data had already been vetted by the National Statistical Commission. This led to a vacuum in India's poverty statistics.

Recently, the NSSO released its consumption surveys for 2022-23 and 2023-24. Hopefully, this will again generate the same kind of debate and eventually help enrich the country's statistical system.

However, the same cannot be said of the country's other major statistical agency, the Registrar General of India (RGI).