Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister, Dr. P. K. Mishra, today delivered the keynote address at the inaugural session of the Conference of State Planning, Finance and IT Secretaries, organised by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) in New Delhi. Emphasising the importance of credible statistics, data harmonisation and technology-enabled governance, he said a strong statistical system is essential for evidence-based policymaking and achieving the vision of Viksit Bharat @ 2047.

Dr. Mishra said statistics, data, technology, planning and governance are increasingly interconnected elements of India’s development journey. A robust statistical system, he noted, must enable governments to measure development progress across States and districts, assess policy outcomes, identify gaps and ensure that public resources deliver the intended results. “What cannot be measured cannot be managed effectively. And what cannot be managed effectively cannot be transformed sustainably,” he observed.

Highlighting the need to modernise economic measurement, Dr. Mishra said India’s statistical systems must evolve alongside an economy that is increasingly digital, formalised and interconnected. He noted that the introduction of the new National Accounts Series, with 2022-23 as the base year, alongside updated Consumer Price Index (CPI) and Index of Industrial Production (IIP) series, represents an important step towards keeping statistical methodologies aligned with changing economic realities.

Underscoring the importance of State Statistical Systems, Dr. Mishra said India’s development story is fundamentally a story of its States, where policies are implemented, economic activity takes place and citizens experience development outcomes. He called for stronger institutional capacity and closer Centre–State coordination to improve the quality of official statistics.

Dr. Mishra said artificial intelligence, machine learning, geospatial systems, satellite imagery and advanced analytics offer significant opportunities to improve the timeliness, accuracy and usefulness of official statistics. However, he cautioned that technological advancement must remain guided by statistical quality, transparency, privacy, security and accountability. “Speed cannot come at the cost of accuracy. Greater use of data cannot come at the cost of confidentiality,” he said.

Dr. Mishra described statistics as an important instrument of cooperative federalism, enabling States and the Centre to compare outcomes, identify best practices and learn from regional differences. As India progresses towards 2047, he said, national averages alone would not suffice; granular data at State, district and local levels would be increasingly necessary to identify development gaps and guide interventions.

Concluding, Dr. Mishra called for a collective national effort involving MoSPI, State Statistical Offices, Finance, Planning and IT Departments, NITI Aayog, academic institutions and other stakeholders. He said India needs a statistical architecture that is trusted, transparent, technology-enabled, interoperable and policy-relevant. Such a system, he added, would not merely measure India’s transformation but also help guide and accelerate it towards Viksit Bharat @ 2047.

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Samrat