(03 July 2023) Government Data Roundup: Reports By RBI, MoSPI, FAO, WEF Among Those Released Recently

The 32nd edition of the fortnightly roundup of government data covers reports released by Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry & Dairying, MoSPI, FAO, among others.

In this 32^nd edition of the fortnightly roundup of government data, we look at some of the reports and data released by the Ministry of  Fisheries, Animal Husbandry & Dairying along with updates from various monthly reports. We also look at two global reports published by international agencies.

Among the periodical reports, RBI’s monthly bulletin and MoSPI’s Payroll Reporting in India were released during the review period.

Payroll Reporting in India: An Employment Perspective – April 2023.

MoSPI’s monthly report covers the period from September 2017 up to April 2023. As per the latest report, 8.46 lakh new subscribers joined EPF in April 2023. Likewise, the total number of new members who paid ESI was 13.51 lakhs. There was a total of 67.3 thousand new subscribers for NPS during April 2023. Detailed explanations about these reports can be found in our earlier updates which can be found here.

Reserve Bank of India Bulletin – June 2023

RBI’s Monthly Bulletin for the month of June 2023 stated that Global economic activity has sustained its growth momentum in the second quarter of 2023. While the economies of a few countries have contracted, India is among those whose economy has rebounded. India’s GDP growth in Q3 of 2022-23 was 6.1% which is the highest among major economies of the world. Further, CPI inflation came down to a 25-month low at 4.3% in May 2023.

The GVA growth at the base price for Q4 of 2022-23 is 6.5%, while in the earlier quarter, it was 4.7%. The bulletin also included the monetary policy statement 2023-24. Five articles were published in this bulletin:

1. State of the Economy
2. Weather Events and Their Impact on Growth and Inflation in India
3. OPEC Oil Supply Announcements: An Assessment of Impact on the Indian Economy
4. Financial Literacy in India: Insights from a Field Survey
5. Retail Credit Trends – A Snapshot.

Other Government Data and reports released during the previous fortnight include:

Reports on Sustainable Development Goals National Indicator Framework

About the reports

The reports provide the progress and data related to India’s Sustainable Development Goals. The SDG National Indicator Framework (NIF) is developed and monitored by MoSPI. It was developed in 2018 consisting of 306 national Indicators. It is the largest monitoring framework in the country. The framework was developed after extensive consultations with NITI Aayog, Central Ministries, State Governments, and other stakeholders. A High-Level Steering Committee (HLSC) periodically reviews and refines the NIF for monitoring SDGs. Currently, there are 284 indicators in the NIF, 2023.

The Sustainable Development Goals National Indicator Framework Progress Report, 2023, is an annual report published by MoSPI, based on the latest data supplied by the Ministries/Departments to facilitate monitoring the progress of each of the SDGs.

Highlights

• The progress report indicates significant gains made in maternal and child health, education, poverty, and climate change.
• The percentage of children (under age 5) who are underweight reduced to 32.1% in 2019-21 compared to 35.7% in 2015-16. The percentage of children who are stunted also reduced from 38.4% to 35.5% during the same period.
• However, the prevalence of anaemia in women (15 to 49 years) has increased from 53.1% in 2015-16 to 57% in 2019-21. The prevalence increased both in the case of pregnant and non-pregnant women. Even in the case of children (aged 6-59 months), the percentage of children who are anaemic increased from 58.5% in 2015-16 to 67.1% in 2019-21.
• Maternal Mortality Rate (per 1 lakh live births) improved from 130 in 2014-15 to 97 in 2018-20. Under 5 mortality rate (per 1 thousand live births) improved from 43 in 2015 to 32 in 2020.
• Gross Enrolment Ratio in higher secondary education increased from 48.3% in 2015-16 to 57.6% in 2021-22.

Brief note on 9 Years’ achievement of the Department of Animal Husbandry & Dairying

About the report

On 27 June 2023, the Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying released a note highlighting the achievements of the Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying over a period of 9 years. The note includes the various programmes implemented by the department across different sectors – livestock, dairy, egg & meat production etc.

Highlights of the Brief Note

• The livestock sector grew at a CAGR of 7.93% during 2014-15 to 2020-21 at constant prices. The contribution of livestock in total agriculture and allied sector GVA increased from 24.3% (2014-15) to 30.13% (2020-21).
• Livestock population as per the 20^th Livestock Census stands at 303.76 million bovines, 74.26 million sheep, 148.88 million goats, 9.06 million pigs and 851.81 million poultry.
• Milk production increased by 51% from 146.3 million tonnes in 2014-15 to 221.06 million tonnes in 2021-22.
• Egg production increased at a rate of 8% per annum. It increased from 78.5 billion in 2014-15 to 129.6 billion in 2021-22. India ranks in 3^rd in Egg production.
• Few of the missions & programs initiated by the Department include the Rastriya Gokul Mission, National Programme for Dairy Development, Dairy Processing & Infrastructure Development Fund (DIDF), National Livestock Mission, Animal Husbandry Infrastructure Development Fund, Livestock Health and Disease Control (LH&DC), National Animal Disease Control Programme (NADCP), Livestock Census & Integrated Sample Survey Scheme, Committee for the Purpose for Control, Supervision of Experimental Animal (CPCSEA).

In addition to these, a few other important reports were released by international organizations.

Food Outlook – Biannual report on global food markets

About the report

Food Outlook is a biannual report on global food markets released by the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization twice a year. Food Outlook report provides FAO’s reviews of market supply and demand trends for the world’s major foodstuffs, including cereals, oil crops, sugar, meat and dairy and fish. It also looks at trends in futures markets and shipping costs for food commodities. Food Outlook is published by the Markets and Trade Division of FAO as part of the Global Information and Early Warning System (GIEWS).

The latest forecasts point to an increase in production and higher stocks across several basic foodstuffs. However, the report also highlights that global food production systems remain vulnerable to shocks, especially due to – weather conditions, geopolitical tensions, and policies. These have impacted the delicate demand-supply balances thereby having a bearing on global food security.

Highlights

• Global wheat production, stocks and trade are all forecast to fall in 2023-24 compared to the record levels in 2022-23. However, the supplies are set to be sufficient due to the significant carryover from last season and stagnant utilisation.
• Record production is expected for global coarse grains, facilitating recovery from the tight season in 2022-23.
• In the case of Rice, production disruptions in 2022-23 and strong Asian demand have resulted in the highest level of international rice prices since October 2011.
• A marginal increase is expected in Global meat production despite challenges in production.
• Tighter sugar supplies due to lower production in key sugar-growing countries are expected to result in a sharp increase in prices worldwide.
• Second year of successive slow growth is predicted in the case of milk production as well as fisheries.

Global Gender Gap Report 2023

About the Report

Global Gender Gap Report is an annual report released by World Economic Forum. The Global Gender Gap Index benchmarks the current state and evolution of gender parity across four key dimensions – economic participation and opportunity, educational attainment, health and survival, and political empowerment. This index was introduced in 2006 and is the longest-standing index that is tracking the progress of counties’ efforts towards closing the gender gaps.

The 2023 edition is the 17^th edition, and it benchmarks gender parity across 146 countries. The index measures scores on a 0 to 100 scale and scores can be interpreted as the distance covered towards parity.

Highlights 

• Considering the 102 countries covered continuously from 2005 to 2023, the gap is 68.6% closed in 2023. Comparing to the first edition in 2006, it improved by 4.1% points. At this rate of progress, it would take 131 years to reach full parity.
• Empowerment score increased to 22.5% from 22.4%, while there is a regression in the case of Economic Participation and Opportunity from 60% in 2022 to 59.8% in 2023. As per the current estimates, it would take 162 years to close Political Empowerment and Opportunity Gap.
• Among the Geographical regions, Gender parity is highest in Europe (76.3%) followed by North America (75%). Next in the standings are – Latin America & Caribbean, Eurasia & Central Asia, East Asia, and the Pacific. Sub-Saharan Africa and Southern Asia are lower with the Middle east and North Africa having the least gender parity with 62.6%.
• 42 of the 145 economies covered in both the 2022 and 2023 editions improved their gender parity score by at least 1%. The economies with the greatest increase in score are Liberia, Estonia, Bhutan Malawi, Colombia, and Chile
• Iceland with 91.2% takes the top spot for four years running and also is the only country to have closed more than 90% gender gap. Other countries in top-5 are – Norway. Finland, Sweden, and New Zealand.
• India ranks 127 in the 2023 index, an improvement over 135th rank out of 146 countries in the 2022 edition.
• Bangladesh ranks the highest among South-Asian countries. Only Pakistan and Afghanistan rank lower than India among South Asian countries.
• Afghanistan is at the bottom, with Algeria and Chad slightly better.