India’s statistical system can reclaim past glory: PK Mishra

4 min readNew DelhiUpdated: Jun 29, 2026 05:51 PM IST

Our Prime Minister was very surprised at how so much criticism there was about our system,” PK Mishra, Principal Secretary to Prime Minister Narendra Modi said. (Express Archives)

The modernisation of the statistics ministry is a “success story”, with the Prime Minister’s Office playing the role of “a catalyst and a facilitator” to encourage the ministry’s leadership and senior officers, PK Mishra, Principal Secretary to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, said.

Speaking Monday at the 20th Statistics Day, organised by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) to commemorate the birth anniversary of famed statistician PC Mahalanobis, Mishra also said India’s statistical system can reclaim its past glory that had seen it become one of the finest survey-based statistical systems in the world starting in the 1950s.

“After about half a century of this journey, the Indian statistical system witnessed a gradual decline in its capability and capacity… About a decade ago, there were several articles in newspapers and other forums and commentaries, very critical of our statistical system during the years 2014-2016 and so on. Our Prime Minister was very surprised at how so much criticism there was about our system,” Mishra said.

Statistics under fire

While Mishra did not mention specifics, he was seemingly referring to the blowback the government faced after it junked the Consumer Expenditure Survey for 2017-18, citing data quality issues. At the same time, key economic indicators such as the CPI and GDP had begun attracting criticism for being outdated.

According to Mishra, discussions in the PMO started in January 2020 over the improvement of India’s statistical system, starting with a meeting involving MoSPI, NITI Aayog, and the World Bank. “At that time, even within our Office, eyebrows were raised that the Prime Minister’s Office was spending time brainstorming on the statistical system instead of spending time on flagship programmes and schemes,” he said on Monday, adding that the PMO’s intention was to enable MoSPI to improve its performance by addressing structural and inter-ministerial issues.

More interactions were held in 2021 and 2022, including with external experts, leading to a decision being taken in July 2023 to undertake an “in-depth analysis to identify major reforms for India’s statistical system”. Several issues were identified in another meeting in September that year, including non-release of data and delays, the fragmented statistical architecture, uneven data quality across agencies and states, a decline in professional capacity, a growing disconnect from user needs, and insufficient adaptation of new data sources. Other organisations, such as the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister, the National Statistical Commission, and the Reserve Bank of India were brought in to help with the reform process, which included the base year of India’s key macroeconomic indicators.

Data overhaul

Over the last six months, the government’s efforts have finally borne fruit, with a new GDP, CPI, and WPI series being released with new base years and improved calculation methodologies. Several new surveys are also being undertaken, including the country’s first household income survey.

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MoSPI is also actively considering how administrative data, such as that related to Goods and Services Tax, among others, can be used to complement survey-based data. According to Mishra, administrative data needs to stop being a byproduct of departmental processes and become a “strategic national asset” which can help in timely evidence-based decision-making and improve programme design and enhance service delivery. However, these efforts need to be well-coordinated in all central ministries, departments, states, and Union Territories.

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Siddharth Upasani is a Deputy Associate Editor with The Indian Express. He reports primarily on data and the economy, looking for trends and changes in the former which paint a picture of the latter. Before The Indian Express, he worked at Moneycontrol and financial newswire Informist (previously called Cogencis). Outside of work, sports, fantasy football, and graphic novels keep him busy.

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