More Stories

Informist, Thursday, Mar. 20, 2025

 

NEW DELHI - The number of data sets available to the government has increased over the years with new administrative data, and the presence of alternate data such as goods and services tax collections, road toll collections. However, the integration of such data with the government survey data remains a big challenge, Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation Secretary Saurabh Garg said on Thursday.

 

"We have now access to administrative and alternative data. We have 200 odd data sets we have compiled from different ministries, which will perhaps would be very useful in being able to provide policymakers some kind of evidence for better policy making," Garg said at a brainstorming session organised by the statistics ministry for leveraging non-conventional data sources for official statistics. Apart from the around 200 administrative data sets now availble with the statistics ministry,  a large number of alternate data sources also exist such as telecom data, GST, and road toll collection data, Garg said.

 

The ministry has found ways to integrate some of these with survey data. "But one of the biggest challenges remains on how to integrate administrative, alternate, and survey data in a manner that is statistically robust and where you can draw inferences which would not get tainted by different forms of data," Garg said. 

 

Garg had earlier said the ministry is also looking to incorporate alternative sources of data in official statistics. The use of e-commerce data in the compilation of the CPI is a "work in progress", Garg had said at an event on Feb. 13. The ministry is working to integrate its surveys for data collection with chatbots enabled by artificial intelligence, Garg said in February. 

 

The statistics ministry has set up a 21-member Working Group to prepare a plan to develop a Statistical Business Register and official statistics based on the database. The Working Group on Integrated Official Business Statistics has been tasked with reviewing all sources of administrative data such as the GST Network and the corporate affairs ministry to develop the Statistical Business Register, which is a register of enterprises or establishments involved in business activity.  End

 

Reported by Shubham Rana

Edited by Vandana Hingorani

 

 

For users of real-time market data terminals, Informist news is available exclusively on the NSE Cogencis WorkStation.

 

Cogencis news is now Informist news. This follows the acquisition of Cogencis Information Services Ltd by NSE Data & Analytics Ltd, a 100% subsidiary of the National Stock Exchange of India Ltd. As a part of the transaction, the news department of Cogencis has been sold to Informist Media Pvt Ltd.

 

Informist Media Tel +91 (11) 4220-1000

Send comments to feedback@informistmedia.com

 

© Informist Media Pvt. Ltd. 2025. All rights reserved.