Socio-Economic surveys

National Statistics Office (NSO) under the MoSPI is responsible for conducting large scale sample surveys on various socio-economic subjects on All India basis. These surveys are either Household based surveys where the primary unit of enumeration is a household or Enterprise based surveys where the primary unit of enumeration is an enterprise. These surveys are designed to meet the requirements of various stakeholder Ministries and departments, based on recommendations from various expert groups and committees. The household surveys primarily collect information that is not available either through administrative records or through surveys conducted by domain-specific Ministries or departments.

The surveys are being conducted in digital platform using Computer Assisted Personal Interview (CAPI) or web-based application with in-built validation mechanism to ensure consistency at the stage of data collection. Collected data are thoroughly scrutinized by the supervisory level officers to identify inconsistency, if any and necessary clarifications are obtained/corrections are incorporated. Monitoring of survey process is also accomplished through the digital platform. Before commencement of any survey, extensive training on survey instruments as well as use of CAPI are provided to the field officials. Clarifications are also given on a regular basis on the queries raised by field officials during the course of the survey. Further, Data quality workshops are also organised to address the conceptual queries and monitoring the survey data quality time-to-time. Additionally, survey instruments are periodically improved to enhance data quality. Before taking up any new survey, whether the indicators to be generated from the surveys are available from any other government survey/administrative data sources, are extensively verified to rule out the possibility of duplication of surveys. Also, consultations with relevant line Ministries and departments are held to avoid duplication of work, effort, etc.

Regular dialogues with data users are conducted so that Ministries/ Departments can incorporate their feedback on additional data coverage and disclosure requirements. To facilitate this, MoSPI conducts Data User Conferences after release of results of sample surveys with an aim to engage stakeholders and enhance understanding of the survey’s findings, focusing on data access, interpretation, user concerns and survey methodology. Further, to ensure transparency of survey results, unit level data of the surveys are also made available on MoSPI’s website for access by various researchers, policymakers, etc to better understand, analyze and explore the country’s data.

This information was given by the Minister of State (independent Charge) of the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation, Minister of State (Independent Charge) of the Ministry of Planning and Minister of State in the Ministry of Culture, Shri Rao Inderjit Singh in a written reply in the Rajya sabha today