Union Minister of Statistics & Programme Implementation Shri D.V. Sadananda Gowda says that availability of good data during the implementation process ensures the effective control on delivery of various public services and thus results in good governance. He was inaugurating the 24th COCSSO (Conference of Central and State Statistical Organizations) organized by Ministry of Statistics & Programme Implementation in collaboration with Directorate of Economics and Statistics, Government of Maharashtra in Nagpur today. The Minister said that with an objective of “Sabka Sath Sabka Vikas”, the Central Government is formulating suitable indicators to achieve various goals in the Sustainable Developmental Goals (SDGs) of UN in consultation with State Governments and various other agencies.

Stressing upon the importance of Statistics Sh. Gowda said the importance of statistics has been growing rapidly with the greater integration and inter-dependence of world economies, which is also evident from burgeoning data. Local level statistics have immense significance for understanding the socio-economic reality and thereby appropriate policy formulation.

The Statistics on infrastructure, health, educational facilities and socio-economic conditions of the society are essential to cater to the needs of planning and policy formulation at Sub-State levels. In such a scenario, interaction between the Central and State Governments in a federal set up as ours becomes very important, he added.

The Conference of Central and State Statistical Organizations (COCSSO) provides an excellent platform for such interaction & coordination in the field of Statistical activities in different States/UTs and Central Ministries/ Departments.

Informing about initiatives of Ministry Statistics & Programme Implementation, Sh. Gowda stated that in recent past , his Ministry has taken a number of new initiatives to switch over from traditional way of data collection & storage to digital & smart way. Online data collection of Consumer Price Index, Index of Industrial Production is also being done in efficient manner.

The theme of this year’s Conference is “Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare”. Shri S. S. Mungantiwar, Minister for Finance & Planning, Forest, Goverment of Maharashtra, Shri C. K. Bawankule, Minister for Energy, New & Renewable Energy, State Excise, Government of Maharashtra and Guardian Minister of Nagpur, Dr. Radha Binod Barman, Chairman, National Statistical Commission (NSC) and Dr. T. C. A. Anant, Secretary (S&PI) and Central Statistical Institute(CSI), Sh. G.C. Manna, Director General, CSO, were also present on this occasion.

Official statistics enable data-driven governance and policy oversight, with digital collection modernising key economic indicators. Role of official statistics in good governance is emphasised, linking reliable data to effective delivery of public services and policymaking; formulation of indicators for Sustainable Development Goals in consultation with states; federal coordination via COCSSO for harmonising statistical activities; and a ministry shift to digital data collection, including online Consumer Price Index and Index of Industrial Production, to modernise statistical operations.