By TIOL News Service

NEW DELHI, MAY 31, 2017: INDIA is a participant in the current phase of the International Comparison Programme (ICP) with reference to 2017, which is a global statistical initiative that supports inter-country comparisons of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and its components, based on Purchasing Power Parity. The Ministry of Statistics & Programme Implementation (MOSPI) would undertake the task of price collection in rural and urban areas all over the country.

Towards the objective of collecting data for the International Comparison Programme, the Central Statistics Office (CSO) has lately been conducting several data gathering exercises, such as the Annual Survey of Industries (ASI), which is the principal source of industrial statistics in India every year. These days, data is collected online through a web-portal directly from data source, which permits either the respondent establishment or the field office of NSSO to submit the data for validation and processing, thereby increasing the data accuracy, since the validation checks reduced errors considerably. Online collection of data also significantly reduced the cost and time and the web portal is being continuously refined. Moreover, the CSO plans to develop a similar scheme for developing a web-based data collection system for Index of Industrial Production (IIP), a monthly index compiled to assess the growth of industrial production and release. The project is expected to result in huge time savings and will be performed by the surveyors of the National Sample Survey Organisation (NSSO), who will track and upload employment data, among others.

The Ministry has also established a wide area network dedicated to information on ‘State Domestic Product' whose objective is to collect and present data pertaining to SDP from all 29 States and 7 Union Territories of India at one platform.

The Ministry has been making efforts to provide NSS estimates at lower administrative level. At present, the NSS estimates are provided at National and State levels due to limitation on size of Central Sample. Increase in sample size by pooling of Central and State sample data enables the generation of sub-state level estimates. A Manual on Pooling of Central and State Sample Data covering all methodological aspects of Pooling Central and State sample data, prepared by NSSO, has been released for use by States. NSSO is also providing technical support to State/UTs in the exercise of pooling of data of central and state samples.

In tune with the objective of collection of data for ICP, the Minister for Statistics & Programme Implementation, Mr D.V.Sadananda Gowda, inaugurated the new office building of National Sample Survey Office (NSSO), named Sankhyiki Bhawan, in New Delhi today.

The inauguration of the new building is slated to open a new chapter in the history of the NSSO. With all Divisions under one roof, coordination of various work at a very closer level is expected to improve, resulting in speedier and better output. The Minister expressed hope that the present infrastructure would provide a better working environment resulting in quality output. The better facilities are expected to further enhance productivity and reach new levels of professionalism, making Sankhyiki Bhawan a new landmark in Delhi. The building is equipped with modern energy efficient devices while also conserving natural light and using solar power, apart from also having modern and state-of-the-art information technology and communication facilities.