In a major statistical system overhaul, govt plans to merge CSO, NSSO

To streamline and strengthen the statistical system, the government has decided to merge the Central Statistical Organisation (CSO) and the National Sample Survey Office (NSSO) to form a National Statistical Office (NSO).
The move is a follow-up of a decision taken in 2005, during the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government’s tenure, which was based on recommendations of the report of the National Statistical Commission, headed by former Reserve Bank of India governor C Rangarajan.
Both the wings are currently part of the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI). While the NSSO comes out with various sample surveys such as on consumption expenditure, employment and unemployment, the CSO releases various data such as GDP and IIP.
“The CSO and the NSSO are two organs of the same body and need to work together. This is a measure to avoid duplication of work and leverage the strength of the statistical system. There is no dilution of independence and in fact strengthens the system,” Chief Statistician of India Pravin Srivastava, who will head the NSO, told Business Standard.
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The order to constitute an NSO was passed on May 23 with the approval of the outgoing Minister of Statistics D V Sadananda Gowda. Srivastava said the CSO and the NSSO worked as subordinate offices of the MoSPI and officials working there felt they had no authority.
“This will help in meeting the requirement of the statistical system as a lack of control on these two bodies was one challenge presently. The National Statistical Commission will continue to work as an overarching body and at an arm’s length,” Srivastava said.
The move will align India’s statistical system with other countries, he added, and was a long-pending decision which has materialised after 14 years.
A Data Quality Assurance Division has also been set up, replacing the Data Processing Division, which will have the responsibility to bring about improvements in survey and administrative databases. This division will be strengthened through “re-skilling and deployment of existing personnel”.
India’s official statistics came under a cloud after several experts raised questions on credibility of the new GDP series. The government’s move to withhold the first periodic labour force survey, which showed unemployment rate at a 45-year high, put a further dent.

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The MoSPI is expected to come out with a detailed note on a wide range of official statistics to put all speculations to rest, a government official said.
The Rangarajan committee had also recommended setting up of the NSC, headed by a person with a Minister of State-level designation, to serve as a nodal and empowered body for all core statistical activities of the country.
“The administration of the statistical system will become easier with setting up of an NSO. Integration will ensure that various bodies do not work in silos,” said another government official.
According to the Rangarajan Commission, the new NSO was envisaged as an agency to implement and maintain statistical standards and coordinate statistical activities of Central and State agencies as laid down by the NCS.
The NSO’s other roles included collection of core statistics, carrying out methodological research and studies, maintaining a warehouse of core statistics, as per the Rangarajan Commission report.

India's growth to remain in 7-7.5% range in next few yrs: PM advisory panel

India's economic growth is expected to remain in the range 7-7.5 per cent in the next few years, the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister (EAC-PM) said on Friday.
The growth rate can be easily increased by 1 per cent by addressing structural problems through reforms, the council observed during its meeting Friday.

The Central Statistics Office (CSO) in its latest forecast pegged the growth at 7.2 per cent for 2018-19.
The Council strongly feels that there should be no deviation from the fiscal consolidation target "but there must be continued emphasis on social sector interventions", an official release said.
The panel noted that the macro-economic fundamentals of the economy are sound but challenges remain, several of which are structural in nature.
"While the prospect for world economic growth does not look very promising, particularly in advanced economies, there is sufficient amount of growth momentum in emerging market economies."
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"India is not insulated from global developments, nevertheless, India's growth expected to be in the 7-7.5 per cent range in the next few years," the EAC-PM said.
The panel also discussed agricultural problems, investment trends, fiscal consolidation, interest rate management and credit and financial market issues during the meeting.
The Council felt that the exchange rate management of the rupee by the RBI has been sound despite the volatility in price of the crude oil, the release said.
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There are indications that financial savings have started going up and there is credit uptick through private banks to the services sector, it said.
The reform in the financial sector should be strengthened further building upon what the government is already doing, the statement added.
The Council also felt that the challenge of insularity being seen in external trade should be reversed through supportive policy interventions because there is a positive turn in exports that are visible now.
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The challenges in the agriculture sector should be addressed by looking closely at the credit flow and support to employment programmes like MNREGA, it noted.
The EAC-PM is an independent body constituted to give advice on economic and related issues to the Government of India, specifically to the Prime Minister.

Economy to grow at 7.2% in FY19 as agriculture, manufacturing look up: CSO

The Indian economy is expected to grow at 7.2 per cent in 2018-19, a tad higher from 6.7 per cent in the previous fiscal, mainly due to improvement in the performance of agriculture and manufacturing sectors, the Central Statistics Office said Monday.

Releasing the first advance estimates of National Income for 2018-19, the Central Statistics Office (CSO) said, "The growth in GDP during 2018-19 is estimated at 7.2 per cent as compared to the growth rate of 6.7 per cent in 2017-18."
"Real GVA (Gross Value Added) is anticipated to grow at 7 per cent in the current fiscal as against 6.5 per cent in 2017-18," it said.
According to the CSO data, the expansion in activities in 'agriculture, forestry and fishing' is likely to increase to 3.8 per cent in the current fiscal from 3.4 per cent in the preceding year.
The growth of manufacturing sector is expected to accelerate to 8.3 per cent this fiscal, up from 5.7 per cent in 2017-18.
The Gross Domestic Product (GDP) had expanded by 7.1 per cent in 2016-17 and 8.2 per cent in 2015-16.
Most private economists, Reuters reported, have already lowered India's growth forecast to around seven per cent for FY19, compared with the central bank's earlier estimate of 7.4 per cent, citing weakening consumption and slowdown in credit offtake.