Concerns over quality have led to a delay in the publication of results as out of 27 states and eight Union territories, 22 of them had not granted approval till last December | Illustration: Binay Sinha
The Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) has begun preparations for the eighth Economic Census (EC), which is expected to be formally launched next year, sources told Business Standard, even as the results of the seventh edition are yet to be made public.
“The Centre has asked states and Union Territories (UTs) to submit their requirements for funds and staff so that work on the eighth EC can begin. States and UTs are required to set up a dedicated unit to conduct the exercise. This time, the ministry is seeking better coordination with states and UTs to ensure timely delivery of results,” sources said.
Quality concerns have led to inordinate delay in the release of the 7th EC results as out of 27 states (excluding West Bengal) and eight Union Territories (UTs), 22 of them had not accorded clearance till December last, Rao Inderjeet Singh, Minister of State (Independent Charge), MoSPI, informed Parliament.
“We need to close the chapter on the seventh economic census in order to move forward with the eighth edition. The new survey will cover the period 2025-26,” the sources said.
The data collection process for the seventh CE began in 2019, but the exercise could only be completed in 2021 due to disruptions caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.
“It will be too late when the results of the previous census are made public. That is why we have to start the new exercise seriously,” said another official.
The EC is a valuable source of disaggregated information on various operational and structural variables of all establishments in the country, as it provides valuable information on the geographical distribution/groups of economic activities, ownership patterns, persons employed, etc. of all economic establishments.
The information collected during this census is useful for socio-economic development planning at the state and district levels. The practice provides an updated sampling frame for follow-up business surveys that are conducted for detailed and comprehensive analysis of all establishments across the country.
Currently, the latest EC data is from the sixth edition, which was conducted in 2013 and the results of which were published in 2016, which had shown that there were 58.5 million establishments across India, providing employment to 131 million people.
First published: August 13, 2024 | 11:20 PM IS
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