Delay in release of official statistics has dire consequences for addressing job crisis

Delay in release of official statistics has dire consequences for addressing job crisis

economy

News: The article discusses the effect of delay in release of official statistics by the government.

Facts:

• India had built a robust statistical system despite having a large informal economy and many forms of economic activity not captured by conventional measures.
• The report of the 2016-17 NSSO labor force survey is ready and was cleared by the National Statistical Commission, but the government is not releasing it.
• Two members of NSC resigned recently to protest the sidelining of the body and its reports.
• The members were also concerned at that the back series gross domestic product (GDP) data released by the Niti Aayog without even consulting the commission, which is the apex statistical body.
• Labour Bureau’s report on the sixth annual employment-unemployment survey, also for 2016-17, has not been publicly released by the government.
• Government’s own reports about the status of Clean Ganga campaign or Swachh Bharat Abhiyan or the Ujjwala Yojana or the rural electrification are delayed.
• The National Crime Records Bureau has stopped publishing its reports for the last two years.
• The RBI is refusing to disclose information on banks that are not complying with regulatory guidelines.
• Even the data on work provided by government in MGNREGA is hidden on website.

Implications of the delay in release of statistics:

• It denies citizens access to reliable data on what is going on in the economy and assess the government’s performance.
• Data is hidden and uncertainty is used by governments to advance false claims about employment generation etc.
• It is counterproductive for the government because effective policy-making requires proper knowledge of existing conditions and problems.
• Repeated government interventions in data releases run the risk of denting the market’s trust in official data released by government agencies.