Breaking: In the possible first blow to the country’s statistical system due to #CAA_NRCProtests, the government may defer a key socio-economic survey as surveyors are facing the wrath of people who see it as an exercise for determining their citizenship.
business-standard.com/article/econom…
business-standard.com/article/econom…
The decision to recommend the postponement of the NSO’s 78th round of survey on domestic tourism expenditure and multiple indicators, which began last month, was taken at a meeting of an expert committee on Wednesday. The government will take a final call now.
The survey, scheduled to be conducted during January-December 2020, is aimed at mapping the multiple indicators of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals 2030 for the first time and is collecting information on migration patterns of citizens, purchase of houses, etc
What has complicated the matters further are the questions being asked in the survey. Did the person stay in the same place for at least 6 months? What was the last place of residence? Are household members planning to move out? Which country did they last live in?
One major challenge faced by surveyors is the lack of cooperation by households, as they are either being shown the door or attacked during their work, putting their lives at risk. People fear that survey officers are collecting data for determining their citizenship.
Households are refusing to answer basic questions such as their names or religion. The NSO has received complaints from several states, including UP, Karnataka, Maharashtra and Bihar. But West Bengal is the worst affected where no household surveys are taking place right now.
The committee’s decision to recommend deferring this survey comes at a time when the govt is planning to conduct fresh back-to-back surveys on consumer spending in 2020-21 and 2021-22.
Apart from it, key survey on jobs and an economic census is going on.
business-standard.com/article/econom…
Apart from it, key survey on jobs and an economic census is going on.
business-standard.com/article/econom…
“For now, there is not much that can be done. Everything is contingent upon the #NPR exercise,” former chief statistician Pronab Sen, who is also heading the standing committee on economic statistics, said, adding that a large number of unresponsive sample distorted the results.
