NITI-Aayog Vice-Chairman Rajiv Kumar has emphasised the need to revamp and modernise the country’s statistical system to capture real-time data for policy analysis.
He said that he is in touch with the World Bank for modernising the country’s statistical system.
“One thing that I am clear about is that our statistical system needs to be revamped, modernised and get aligned with the statistical system in the world,” he told PTI in an interview.
Clouded GDP numbers
Recently, several experts including former RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan and former Chief Economic Advisor Arvind Subramanian had expressed doubts over India’s revised economic growth data. Both Rajan and Subramanian had said that the current cloud over the GDP numbers must be cleared by appointing an impartial body to look at the data. “And a World Bank team recently visited me, they are actively looking into what steps are to be taken for modernising our statistical system so that we can move increasingly to real-time data based statistical system and policy analysis,” Kumar added.
His comments come at a time when the Statistics and Programme Implementation has decided to merge the Central Statistics Officeand the National Sample Survey Office into National Statistical Office.
Disinvesting PSUs
Asked whether the government would be able to privatise some sick public sector units (PSUs) this fiscal, Kumar said, “Yes, you can expect serious action this fiscal on raising non-tax revenues including disinvestment.” The Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) had asked the think-tank to look into the viability of disinvestment of state-run companies and the Aayog has already recommended strategic divestment of 34 sick PSUs and national carrier Air India.
The government has set a disinvestment target of ₹90,000 crore for 2019-20.
Responding to critical comments made by former RBI Governor YV Reddy on the NITI-Aayog, Kumar said that he would consult with former central bank chief to get more clarity.
Reddy had recently said that the Aayog suffers from a wide mandate and diffused focus and there is a need to reinvent the organisation in the context of fiscal federalism.
On Modi government’s goal of doubling farmers income by 2022, Kumar said that doubling of farmers income does not only depend on increasing output.
According to him, to double farmers’ income, there is a need to reduce the cost of agriculture production and giving farmers more values for their output through agro-processing industries.