(02 January 2023) Government Data Roundup: Social Progress Index, EPFO Payroll Data, Trend and Progress of Banking in India Among the Data/Reports Released Recently.
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
January 2, 2023
The nineteenth edition of the fortnightly government data roundup covers data/reports released by MoHFW, Ministry of Labour, MoSPI, RBI, and the year-end reviews by various ministries.
In this 19 edition of fortnightly government data roundup, we look at the Social Progress Index (SPI) released by PM- Economic Advisory Council, the Consultation Paper on Unified Health Interface, All-India Consumer Price Index Numbers For Agricultural And Rural Labourers – November 2022, EPFO Payroll Data, Payroll Reporting in India – A Formal Employment Perspective, RBI Bulletin for December 2022, and Report On Trend And Progress Of Banking In India. Key publications in the last fortnight from 16 December 2022 to 30 December 2022 have been covered in this story.
In addition, as the year 2022 comes to an end, various ministries have released their respective Year-End Reviews through the Press Information Bureau. This year-end review is an annual publication that highlights key initiatives and achievements of the department or ministry in the past year.
Social Progress Index for States and Districts
Brief about data and findings:
The Social Progress Index is a tool that may be used to prioritize public investments and bring attention to areas that need to be addressed through data-driven insights, which will assist state and district-level officials in developing strategies for inclusive growth. The report ranks India’s 707 districts and 36 States/Union Territories based on their performance on various social progress indicators. The Social Progress Index evaluates the nation’s advancements in three dimensions: Opportunity, Foundations of Well-Being, and Basic Human Needs. There are four components to each dimension. At the state & district levels, the Index covers 49 and 89 indicators, respectively.
Key findings:
Consultation Paper on Unified Health Interface
Brief about the paper:
This paper focuses on the Unified Health Interface (UHI) building block within the National Digital Health Ecosystem (NDHE). It describes NHA’s current thinking related to the architecture and role UHI would play in the healthcare ecosystem. An attempt has been made to frame and contextualize the issues for consultation and provide adequate context for the citizens and concerned stakeholders to weigh in with their comments.
The development of the UHI building block as a public good would enable digital health services in the ecosystem, according to the National Digital Health Mission (NDHM). The National Digital Health Blueprint (NDHB) acknowledged the necessity for developing a framework for the growth of a “National Digital Health Ecosystem” (NDHE), which is an ecosystem rather than a system.
Written comments on the issues raised in the Consultation Paper are invited from stakeholders by 13 January 2023, through this link.
Key highlights:
All-India Consumer Price Index Numbers for Agricultural and Rural Labourers – November 2022
Brief about the report:
The Labour Bureau had been compiling CPI data for farm labourers since September 1964. The new series of CPI Numbers for (i) Agricultural and (ii) Rural Laborers (base 1986-87=100) replaced the previous series on base 1960-61=100 with effect from November 1995. These index statistics are compiled each month by the Field Operations Division (FOD) of the National Sample Survey Organization (NSSO), which periodically collects price information from 600 sample villages selected from 20 States.
Key findings:
EPFO Payroll Data
Brief about the data:
The Ministry of Statistics & Programme Implementation started publishing this data in April 2018 covering the period from September 2017 onwards. Information on the number of subscribers under three major schemes- the Employees’ Provident Fund (EPF) Scheme, the Employees’ State Insurance (ESI) Scheme and the National Pension Scheme (NPS) has been used. There could be some overlap in the subscription counts from different sources. As a result, the estimations from different sources do not add up. The data gives different perspectives on the level of employment in the formal sector in the country. However, it does not measure employment at a holistic level.
Key findings:
Report on Trend and Progress of Banking in India
Brief about the report:
In accordance with Section 36 (2) of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949, the Reserve Bank of India published the Report on Trend and Progress of Banking in India 2021–22. This report details the banking industry’s performance so far in 2021–22 and 2022–23, including cooperative banks and non-bank financial institutions.
Key findings:
RBI Bulletin for December 2022
Brief about the report:
The December 2022 edition of the Reserve Bank of India’s monthly Bulletin is released. The Bulletin has eight articles, four talks, and current economic statistics.
The eight articles are as follows: I. State of the Economy, II. Anatomy of Inflation’s Ascent in India, III. Assessing Inflation Expectations Adjusting for Household Biases, IV. Government Finances 2022-23: A Half-Yearly Review, V. Measuring India’s Digital Economy, VI. A Composite Coincident Index for Unorganized Sector Activity in India, VII. Agriculture in 2022-23: Kharif Performance and Rabi Outlook, and VIII. Financial Inclusion through Microfinance – An Assessment of the North-eastern Region of India.
Key findings:
Payroll Reporting in India – A Formal Employment Perspective
Brief about the report:
Using data on the number of subscribers who have subscribed under three major schemes, namely the Employees’ Provident Fund (EPF) Scheme, the Employees’ State Insurance (ESI) Scheme, and the National Pension Scheme, this Ministry has been publishing employment-related statistics in the formal sector since April 2018 covering the period from September 2017 onward (NPS). The subscriber counts from several sources could overlap sometimes, which results in differences in the estimates from several sources. The information provides many viewpoints on the level of employment in the nation’s formal sector. It does not, however, quantify employment in a comprehensive way.
Key findings:
Year-End Reviews for 2022
Several ministries had published their year-end reviews, a few highlights of each ministry are mentioned below.
Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY)
Ministry of Civil Aviation
Ministry of Communications
Ministry of Minority Affairs
Ministry of New and Renewable Energy
Ministry of Women and Child Development
Ministry of Environment, Forests, and Climate Change
Ministry of Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises
Ministry of Steel
Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways
Ministry of Heavy Industries
In addition to these, year-end reviews for various departments such as Department of Consumer Affairs, Department of Sports, Department of Pharmaceuticals, Department of Land Resources, Department of Fertilizers, Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities, Department of Science & Technology, Department of Drinking Water and Sanitation, CSIR (Ministry of Science & Technology), Department of Legislative Affairs, Department of Administrative Reforms & Public Grievances, Department of Pension and Pensioners Welfare, Department of Personnel and Training were released.