Govt working on one-stop platform for all official data: Statistics minister

The Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) is working on an umbrella information portal NIIP to collate all real-time official data including on the Indian economy, Union minister Rao Inderjit Singh on Monday said. The project, National Integrated Information Portal (NIIP), assumes significance as data related to macro-economy and other sectors are released after a lag of weeks and even months in some cases.
"In order to revamp and strengthen the existing statistical system, the ministry has come up with a project called NIIP, which would imbibe new information technology solutions in the field of data acquisition, processing and dissemination," statistics and programme implementation minister Singh said while addressing a virtual conference on the Statistics Day event.

The minister informed that this portal will be a one-stop platform for all official statistics using advanced technology to integrate existing and future databases of administrative statistics and survey data across government offices, sectors, geographies and time.

Once fully operational at the national level, it will facilitate real-time monitoring of the Indian economy, he added.

In the present scenario, there is a time lag of many weeks and in some cases months for release of data. For instance the index of industrial production data measuring factory output in the country comes out with a lag of six weeks. Similarly, the national accounts data measuring Indian economy comes with a lag of two months.

Singh also said the ministry is also working towards development of Computer Application for General Survey Instrument (CAGSI) which may be interpreted as framing a general solution for conducting all surveys under NSO (National Statistical Office) and their processing.

The ultimate goal of this project is to become a one stop platform for all surveys embedded with real time validation system and self-assistance/learning video modules. The application would be made available to all central and state governments for their future surveys.

The Statistics Day is celebrated on 29th June to commemorate the birth anniversary of India's legendary statistician and policy planner, Prof P C Mahalanobis, in recognition of his invaluable contribution in establishing the National Statistical System.

Prof Mahalanobis, who brought the concept of planned governance to India, is fondly remembered as the Father of Statistical System in the country.

Every year a theme of current national importance is selected for Statistics Day celebrations. The theme for Statistics Day, 2020 covers (Sustainable Development Goal) - SDG 3 (Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages) and SDG 5 (Achieve Gender equality and empower all women and girls).

The minister said, "The highest attainable standard of health is a fundamental right of every person. SDG 3 aims to ensure that everyone has access to the highest standards of health and healthcare.

"The COVID-19 global pandemic has shown that in spite of the significant strides made so far, more efforts are needed to fully eradicate a wide range of diseases and address many different persistent and emerging health issues."

The ministry has instituted a new award 'Prof P C Mahalanobis National Award in Official Statistic's for recognising outstanding achievement of official statisticians in central government, state governments and institutions.

The minister also announced the winner of first 'Prof P C Mahalanobis National Award' as Dr C Rangarajan for his path breaking recommendation for holistic statistical reforms that paved the way for the present day national statistical system.