Key Highlights
Call for Interim Data:
- The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Finance has urged the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) to salvage and release interim data from the incomplete 7th Economic Census.
- The committee noted the long gap of over 12 years between the 6th Economic Census (2013) and the proposed 8th Census, creating a large data void.
Fieldwork Challenges:
- Fieldwork for the 7th Economic Census began in 2019 and took two years to complete due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
- West Bengal did not participate, despite communication from the Union government.
- As of December 2023, 12 states/UTs had not approved the provisional results, with approval still pending in 10 states/UTs, preventing finalisation.
Expenditure and Concerns:
- The total outlay for the 7th Economic Census was ₹ 913 crore, of which ₹ 691.04 crore has been utilised.
- The committee criticized the outcome, stating: “even after spending such a huge sum, the purpose of the whole exercise was defeated.”
Ministry’s Response and Future Plans:
- The ministry admitted that the third-party fieldwork model did not perform as expected, with minimal role of states/UTs.
- For the upcoming 8th Economic Census, the ministry plans:
- Full ownership by states/UTs in engaging enumerators and deploying supervisors.
- Extended fieldwork timeline from 3 months in the 7th Census to 9 months, allowing sufficient time for data collection.
Importance of the Economic Census:
- The Economic Census provides critical data on:
- Geographical clusters of economic activity
- Ownership patterns
- Employment statistics in establishments across the country
- This data is used for socio-economic developmental planning at both state and district levels.
Context from the 6th Economic Census:
- Results from the 6th Economic Census (released in 2016) showed 60 million establishments employing 131 million people.
The Parliamentary Committee has highlighted the urgent need for interim data from the 7th Economic Census to partially justify the expenditure and fill the growing data gap. The ministry has acknowledged shortcomings and proposed stronger state involvement and longer timelines for the 8th Economic Census.
