Data gathering problems should be coordinated and resolved by an expert group that the government should form, according to Arvind Panagariya.
Arvind Panagariya, chairman of the 16th Finance Commission (FC), stated at a gathering hosted by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (Mospi) on Saturday that a data portal has to be established for the data gathered by the commission.
Commemorating National Statistics Day, Panagariya remarked, “I would start by highlighting that someone needs to take the lead to create a data portal for the finance commission on a permanent basis, so that its work can be smoothed out in the future.”
According to Panagariya, every finance commission must begin its work on data from scratch; however, a data portal will address this problem and provide continuity.
The 16th FC was established in December of last year, and its members were appointed in January of this year.
Speaking at the occasion as well, Chairman of the National Statistical Commission RL Karandikar suggested that in order to improve data collection and dissemination, the government should form an expert committee to look into the issue and bring together all relevant parties, including Mospi, NITI Aayog, and data users.
“To coordinate and resolve issues of data collection and coordination across ministries, the government should establish an expert group,” Karandikar stated.
In addition, Saurabh Garg, the secretary of Mospi, stated that the government is considering systemic changes to the timely release of data and the use of IT technologies.
“Both the quantity and variety of surveys have been rising. We are regularly looking at systemic improvements on timely data disclosure or IT tool deployment,” Garg said, mentioning recently completed surveys such as AYUSH.
The ministry released a survey study earlier this month to assess the influence of conventional medical systems around the nation. The Annual Survey of Unincorporated Enterprises had also been released.
According to Garg, “the ministry’s future focus is to increase data awareness and improve the use of data analytics and tools for better decision-making.”
On Saturday, the ministry also unveiled the Sustainable Development Goals National Indicator Framework report and the e-sankhyiki portal, a national data repository.