Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) organized the 28^th Conference of Central and State Statistical Organizations (CoCSSO) during 12^th-13^th August, 2024 at Dr. Ambedkar International Centre, Janpath, New Delhi, which concluded on 13^th August, 2024. The Conference was attended by representatives of more than 30 Central Ministries/Departments, around  29 State/UT Governments,  Organizations/Institutions such as Reserve Bank of India (RBI), Indian Statistical Institute (ISI), Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), Indian Agricultural Statistics Research Institute (IASRI), Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), PHD Chamber of Commerce & Industry (PHDCCI), International organisations such as World Bank, UN agencies and other stakeholders.

The valedictory session on 13^th August, 2024 marked the culmination of two days of engaging sessions and panel discussions aimed at the theme- Use of Data for Decision Making- Strengthening State Statistical Systems. During the conference, discussions were held on a wide range of subjects of  common interest between Central Government and State/UT Governments such as Agriculture and Livestock, Sustainable Development Goals, Sample Surveys, National & Regional Accounts, Support for Statistical Strengthening of States and its proposed revamp, Internal Quality Assessment Framework, Consumer Price Index, Index of Industrial Production, Social Statistics, Capacity Building, Economic Census & Enterprise Surveys, Environment Statistics, IT initiatives, Data & Meta Data Standards, Members of Parliament Local Area Development Scheme, New initiatives in Infrastructure & Project Monitoring, data dissemination etc.

Rao Inderjit Singh, Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) of the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation; Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) of the Ministry of Planning and Union Minister of State in the Ministry of Culture, inaugurated the conference on 12^th August, 2024. In his inaugural address, he emphasized the role of MoSPI, Central line Ministries/Departments and States/UTs for availability of quality data in a collaborative institutional approach to ensure the tracking of progress of Prime Minister’s vision of ‘Vikisit Bharat@2047’.

Prof. Rajeeva Laxman Karandikar, Chairman, National Statistical Commission, while addressing the participants, highlighted the need of easy access and use of administrative datasets generated through GSTN, UPI Payment Gateways, E-way bills, and other alternate sources while ensuring privacy and compliance of legal framework to speed up decision making.

Dr. Saurabh Garg, Secretary, MoSPI in his address during the inaugural session, indicated the ongoing statistical reform initiatives of the Ministry like e-sankhyiki portal- One stop data repository, use of Commuter Assistance Personal Interview (CAPI) for surveys, Research & Analysis of official statistics for giving policy insights, Data Innovation Lab, Data Users’ conference and plan of increasing the frequency of some of major NSS surveys like Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS), etc.  

Shri Adil Zainulbhai, Chairman, Capacity Building Commission (CBC) in his pre-recorded address, urged the participants to utilize the upcoming specialized skill courses on iGOT platform of CBC for statistical personnel of Central Ministries/Departments, States and UTs for augmenting the competencies.

Mr. Thomas Danielewitz, Senior Economist, World Bank emphasized the importance and possible scope of data integration in India. In this context, he shared the process of reform across the global statistical systems such as United Kingdom, Australia and Mexico. Some of the major suggestions presented during the session by World Bank include providing support to States for CAPI, development of joint Centre-State framework for a revamped Support for Statistical Strengthening sub-scheme, having joint technology initiative of e-Sankhyiki and e-Sigma, etc.

Shri S. Krishnan, Secretary, M/o Electronics and Information Technology, shared some of the IT initiatives viz. IndiaStack and PM Gati Shakti. He also emphasized the importance of collaboration of Centre with States on tech platforms.

Dr. V Anantha Nageswaran, Chief Economic Advisor, inter-alia stressed the need for filling the data gaps and regular requirement of timely data of States/UTs including Gross State Domestic Product for decision making.  Dr. Shamika Ravi, Member, Economic Advisory Council (EAC) to PM, also shared some of the significant findings from latest Household Consumer Expenditure Survey of MoSPI. Prof. Sanghamitra Bandyopadhyay, Director, Indian Statistical Institute shared ideas on application of machine learning and artificial intelligence in healthcare.

The valedictory session of the conference was graced by Dr. P.K. Mishra, Principal Secretary to Prime Minister on 13^th August, 2024. In his address, while highlighting the crucial role of statistics for policy making, he stressed upon the need of wide-ranging reforms in the Indian statistical system in partnership of central and state government agencies. He also appreciated the reform initiatives taken by MoSPI and efforts made towards creating a roadmap for time bound actions for reforming the statistical system. Referring to India’s election to UN Statistical Commission for 2024-2027, he encouraged the Indian statistical system to use the platform to showcase the initiatives at the global level. He urged both central and State Government agencies to take forward the reform plan in a collaborative and holistic way to build a strong statistical system for effective policy-making and to meet the development trajectory in terms of PM’s vision of ‘VikisitBharat@2047’.

In his valedictory address, Secretary, MoSPI highlighted some of the key takeaways arising from the two day conference which include focus on integration across databases and effective use of administrative data both at Central and State level; bridging of data gaps; need for better collaboration among MoSPI and, other central line Ministries/Departments and States/UTs in terms of leveraging manpower, capacity building, technology, strengthening of State Indicator Framework (SIF) for Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), district level estimates of major macro-economic aggregates; implementation of national reforms at State level and leveraging existing registries of Centre & States. He also indicated the plan of development of institutional mechanism for further collaboration with States/UTs through regional offices of National Sample Survey Office (NSSO), MoSPI.

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