The Hindu Editorial Analysis- 2nd October 2023 | Current Affairs & Hindu Analysis: Daily, Weekly & Monthly - UPSC PDF Download

India’s Statistical Performance on the Global Stage

Why in News?

The World Bank’s compilation of Statistical Performance Indicators (SPI) ranked India 67 among 174 countries in 2019.

• A close assessment of India’s SPI Score on all pillars reveals both shortcomings and a commendable performance in various aspects of SPI.

The SPI (Statistical Performance Index) and its Dimensions

• The World Bank compiles SPIs to assess the performance of national statistical systems across 174 countries.
• The SPI is based on the assessment of five dimensions of performance, commonly referred to as the five pillars of a national statistical system.
• Five Pillars of SPI are:
  • Data use;
  • Data services;
  • Data products;
  • Data sources,
  • Data infrastructure.
• According to the latest available scores from 2019, India’s overall SPI score stands at 70.4, placing it in the 67th rank among the 174 countries assessed.
• The pillar-wise scores show India’s lower performance in the ‘Data use’ and ‘Data products’ pillars, with scores of 80 and 60, respectively, resulting in poor rankings.

An Assessment of India’s SPI Score Across All Pillars

• Data Use
  • The score in the Data use category depends on how different sectors of society, including the legislature, executive, civil society, academia, and international bodies, utilise the statistics produced by the system.
  • India performs well in measures assessing the comparability of estimates of child mortality, debt reporting, drinking water, and labour force participation.
  • However, it loses 20 points due to the unavailability of comparable poverty estimates for the World Bank over the last 10 years.
  • This is because of a new comparability indicator introduced by the World Bank’s PovcalNet for poverty estimation.
• Data Products
  • The pillar Data Products anchors the national statistical system’s performance around the essential data required for Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
  • To improve upon this, India has already taken the right step by conducting a Multiple Indicator Survey and Comprehensive Annual Modular Survey in the NSS 78th round (2020-21) and 79th round (2022-23), respectively, for collection of data on SDGs.
• Data Infrastructure
  • Regarding Data infrastructure, India’s score is 55, ranking 73.
  • This pillar encompasses five sub-dimensions:
    • Legislation and Governance
    • Standards and Methods
    • Skills
    • Partnership
    • Finance
  • India’s scores for ‘Legislation and Governance’ are high, given that the national statistical legislation aligns well with the Fundamental Principles of Official Statistics.
  • However, the overall score for Data infrastructure is reduced due to moderate performance in Standards and Methods and poor performance in Finance.
  • In Standards and Methods, India fares well butthe score in this dimension decreases due to:
    • The non-adoption of the latest standards for classifying employment status (such as International Classification of Status in Employment or ICSE-93 or North American Industry Classification System or NAICS 2012).
    • The accounting basis for reporting central government financial data, and the non-utilisation of the Generic Statistical Business Process Model (GSBPM).
  • The Finance category receives a low score because according to the World Bank India’s national statistical plan lacks full funding.
• Data Services
  • In the Data services dimension, India gets full points for data releases and data services, yet avenues for improvement remain in terms of online accessibility.
  • Enhancements in this area could be achieved by improving download options, providing more comprehensive metadata availability, and open terms for data usage.
  • India’s commendable rank of 40 in the ‘Openness’ score from Open Data Inventory deserves recognition.
• Data Sources
  • India excels in data sources as well (score 68.9, rank 31) securing a place in the top ranks.Under data sources, three indicators are evaluated;
    • Censuses and surveys,
    • Administrative data,
    • Geospatial data.
  • Among these indicators, censuses and surveys (score: 100/100for censuses and 86.6/100 for surveys) contribute the most to India’s ranking, followed by administrative data (score: 50/100), and finally, geospatial data (score: 38.9/100).
  • The low score of administrative data is mainly due to non-fulfilment of criteria of at least 90% registration of births under the Civil Registration System (CRS).
  • The World Bank has taken the estimate of coverage under CRS from the UN SDG monitoring database which shows estimates of coverage as 89% for children under five and 87% for children under one.
  • However, these estimates are derived from the National Family Health Survey conducted between 2019 and 2021, a period significantly affected by lockdowns following COVID-19.
  • On the other hand, Vital Statistics of India cites the coverage of births under CRS for 2019 at approximately 93%, which is a much more reliable source than NFHS for estimation of coverage of CRS.

Relevance of SPI Score

• Underscores India’s Superior Performance Across All Dimensions
  • The SPI measure the capacity and maturity of national statistical systems and the goal is to improve development outcomes and track progress toward the SDGs.
  • The SPI for 2019 underscores India’s superior performance in censuses and surveys in comparison to administrative data.
• Incentivise Countries to Build a Robust National Statistical System
  • The SPI framework will give countries incentives to build better statistical systems.
  • Also, it will help create data ecosystems that can develop and adapt to the requirements of governments and citizens so that better data can support better decisions.

Shortcomings of India’s Official Statistical System

• As India celebrates its election to the United Nations Statistical Commission, India’s own official statistical system has come under scrutiny within the country recently.
• Questions have been raised about the credibility of the statistics it produces and the competence of the official statisticians.
• Acclaimed statistical methods devised to generate these statistics, which were subsequently adopted by other developing countries, now face questioning.
• Surprisingly, the results of statistical exercises, such as censuses and surveys, are claimed to be of poorer quality when compared to data from administrative sources, most of which suffer from uncertain coverage and conceptual shortcomings.
• In general, the statistical system is now facing a trial.

Way Ahead for India to Improve Upon Its SPI Score

• A Thorough Examination of the SPI Score
  • A thorough examination of the SPI score is crucial to drive improvement and enhance international competitiveness.
  • It is through identifying issues and establishing attainable goals that a substantial rise in rankings can be achieved.
  • For instance, achieving a 20-point increase in each of the three pivotal pillars (‘Data products’, ‘Data use’, and ‘Data infrastructure’) would have positioned India at 34 in 2019.
• Proactive Engagement with the World Bank: India should proactively engage in order to fortify the robustness of the SPI.
  • Use of “Vital Statistics of India” in place of the NFHS for estimating the registration of births and deaths is one such case.

Conclusion

• India's performance in 2019 highlights areas that require improvement and demonstrates both strengths and flaws.
• The international rankings of national statistical systems compiled by the World Bank can provide valuable insights to improve India’s National Statistical System.