(06 November 2023) Government Data Roundup: Reports by MoRTH, MoEFCC, MoSPI Among Those Released Recently

In this 41st edition of the Fortnightly Government Data Roundup, we look at some of the reports published by the Ministry of Telecommunications, Ministry of Road Transport & Highways, Ministry of Environment, Forest, & Climate Change and Ministry of Statistics & Programme Implementation.

In this 41^st edition of the Fortnightly Government Data Roundup, we look at some of the reports published by the Ministry of Telecommunications, Ministry of Road Transport & Highways, Ministry of Environment, Forest, & Climate Change and Ministry of Statistics & Programme Implementation. In addition to these, we also look at a report published by the United Nations University, which is the think tank and academic arm of the United Nations.

Road Accidents in India, 2022

About the report

The Annual Report, ‘Road Accidents in India-2022’ has been published by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways. This report is based on the data/information received from police departments of States/UTs on a calendar year basis in standardized formats as provided by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP) under the Asia Pacific Road Accident Data (APRAD) base project. 

The publication serves as a valuable resource for policymakers, researchers, and stakeholders in the realm of road safety. It offers in-depth insights into various aspects of road accidents, including their causes, locations, and their impact on different categories of road users. The report also sheds light on emerging trends, challenges, and the Ministry’s road safety initiatives.

Key Highlights

• A total of 4,61,312 road accidents have been reported by Police Departments of States and Union Territories in India during the calendar year 2022. These accidents have claimed the lives of 1,68,491 persons and caused injuries to 4,43,366 persons. Compared to 2021, there has been an increase of 11.9% in accidents, 9.4% in fatalities, and 15.3% in injuries.
• Of the 4.61 lakh accidents that took place in 2022, about one in three accidents took place on the National Highways (NH) including Expressways, 23.1% on State Highways (SH), and the remaining 43.9% on other roads. 
• Out of the total 1.68 lakh fatalities reported, 36.2% were on National Highways, 24.3% were on State Highways and 39.4% were on other roads. Out of the total 1.55 lakh fatal accidents reported, 35.7% were on National Highways, 24.3% were on State Highways and 40% were on other roads.
• Tamil Nadu reported the highest number of road accidents on National Highways in 2022, whereas the number of persons killed in road accidents was the highest in Uttar Pradesh.
• In 2022, under the category of Traffic Rule Violations, overspeeding is a major killer, accounting for 71.2% of the persons killed followed by driving on the wrong side which accounted for 5.4% of deaths. 
• 47.7% of accidents, 55.1% of deaths and 48.2% of injuries occurred in open areas or in locations that normally do not have any human activities in the vicinity.
• Young adults in the age group of 18-45 years accounted for 66.5% of the victims. 
• Two-wheelers accounted for the highest share of total accidents and fatalities during 2022.

Daily average air quality in Delhi

About the publication

Towards the end of every month, the Ministry of Environment makes a press release of the Overall Air Quality for Delhi-NCR to keep track of the air pollution in the national capital which is always in the news and public discourse for being one of the worst polluted cities in the world. The press release usually covers the Air Quality Index (AQI) of the said region, and concentrations of particulate matter (PM_2.5 and PM₁₀). To present the status of the air quality and its effects on human health, the following description categories have been adopted for IND-AQI:

Findings

• Daily average air quality in Delhi, for the 10-month period between January – October 2023 registered its best index compared to the corresponding period during the last 6 years (barring the COVID affected 2020). That is, a continual trend of relative improvement in the air quality of Delhi-NCR is seen.
• The daily average AQI for Delhi during the first ten months of the year has been recorded as 172 against 187 in 2022, 179 in 2021, 156 in 2020, 193 in 2019, and 201 in 2018 respectively, during the corresponding period.
• Delhi has also witnessed the highest number of days (206) with “Good” to “Moderate” air quality (Daily Average AQI<200) during January – October 2023 as compared to the corresponding period in the previous years (barring the COVID-affected 2020). “Good” to “Moderate” air quality days during this period in the previous years were only 160 in 2022, 197 in 2021, 175 in 2019, and 157 in 2018 respectively.
• This period in 2023 has also witnessed a remarkable reduction in daily average PM_2.5 and PM₁₀ concentrations over the last 6 years.

To know more about Air Quality standards and the directions issued by Courts and Tribunals about bursting firecrackers during festivals & celebrations, Factly’s stories can be accessed here and here.

Interconnected Disaster Risks Report 2023

Brief about the report

The 2023 Interconnected Disaster Risks report examines six interrelated risk tipping points that signify growing and imminent global risks. A tipping point in risk occurs when the essential systems we depend on for our well-being and communities are no longer capable of mitigating risks and functioning as we anticipate. The report analyses several concrete examples of disasters each year and explains how they are interconnected with each other and with human actions. It seeks to shed light on the interconnections that might otherwise be missed and describes how we can develop solutions to use these connections to our advantage. The report is based on thorough scientific analysis and includes technical background reports for each of the cases.

Key highlights

• The six risk tipping points discussed in the report are groundwater depletion, accelerating extinctions, mountain glacier melting, space debris, unbearable heat, and an uninsurable future.
• 400+ vertebrate species went extinct in the last 100 years while 32 million hectares of primary or recovering forest were lost between 2010 and 2015. 1 million plant and animal species are threatened with extinction, many of them within a decade.
• 21 out of 37 of the world’s major aquifers are being depleted faster than they can be replenished. The water stored in aquifers often has accumulated over thousands of years and would equally take thousands of years to fully recharge, making it essentially a non-renewable resource. In India, over 85% of rural drinking water is sourced from groundwater, and its depletion is already threatening water security in rural areas.
• 67 gigatons of ice were lost from glaciers between 2000 and 2019. About half the world’s glaciers are projected to be lost by 2100 and over 1.9 billion people are at risk of negative effects due to glacier retreat.
• Space debris consists of various objects, from minuscule flecks of paint to massive chunks of metal. Out of 34,260 objects tracked in orbit, only around 25 percent are working satellites while the rest are junk, such as broken satellites or discarded rocket stages. Additionally, there are likely around 130 million pieces of debris too small to be tracked, measuring between 1 mm and 1 cm.
• Extreme heat was responsible for an average of 500,000 excess deaths annually in the last two decades, disproportionately affecting the most vulnerable. During a 2023 heatwave in India, wet-bulb temperatures went above 34°C. It should be noted that if the wet-bulb temperature exceeds 35°C for more than six hours, the average person’s body will be unable to cool itself off by evaporating sweat and maintain a stable core body temperature, resulting in organ failure and brain damage if the situation is not improved.
• Since the 1970s, damages because of weather-related disasters have increased sevenfold, with 2022 alone seeing $313 billion in global economic losses. 

Apart from these reports, TRAI and MoSPI released some reports in the last fortnight. The details of some of these reports have already been discussed in previous editions of the government data roundup by Factly. 

Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI)

Report on Drive Tests in 17 Cities: Every quarter, TRAI conducts drive tests in different cities to assess the network quality provided by cellular mobile telephone service providers for voice and data services. For the quarter ending June 2023, the tests were performed in 17 cities. All the TSPs had met the Drop Call Rate (DCR) benchmark of 2% in Agra, Bhopal, Palakkad, Bhopal- Jabalpur Highway, and Jaipur. All TSPs achieved the benchmark of Good Rx Quality of 95% and above with the exceptions of Airtel and JIO in VoLTE in Bhopal- Jabalpur Highway, Jio 4G & Vodafone India Ltd VoLTE in Ongole, and Airtel in 2G and VoLTE & JIO in VoLTE in Bhopal.

Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation

Payroll Reporting in India – A Formal Employment Perspective: The employment outlook of the country covering the period September 2017 to August 2023 gives different perspectives on the level of employment in the formal sector in the country. According to the data, about 14.44 lakh new members joined the Employees’ State Insurance Corporation’s scheme in August 2023 while 9.25 lakh new EPF subscribers were recorded in the same month. 

Ministry of Finance

Monthly GST Revenue Collections: India’s gross GST revenue collection was Rs. 1,72,003 crores in October 2023. This was 13% higher than that in October 2022. During the month, revenue from domestic transactions (including import of services) is also 13% higher than the revenues from these sources during the same month last year. The average gross monthly GST collection in 2023-24 stands at Rs. 1.66 lakh crore and is 11% more than that in the same period in the previous financial year. The dataset on year- and month-wise compiled data from the year 2017-18 to till date on the net monthly total GST revenue for the Government of India through Central Goods and Service Tax (CGST) and Integrated Goods and Services Tax (IGST) is available on Dataful and can be accessed here. This dataset is a High-Frequency Indicator (HFI) and is updated on a monthly basis.