(18 July 2022) Government Data Roundup: Ranking of States on Support to Start-up Ecosystem, State Ranking Index for NFSA, NIRF-2022 rankings, Indices such as CPI and IIP are among the data & reports released recently

In the seventh edition of the ‘Government Data Roundup’, we cover the Ranking of States on Support to Start-up Ecosystem, State Ranking Index for NFSA, NIRF-2022 rankings, Indices such as CPI and IIP, Second advance crop estimates of area and production of horticultural crops among others.

In the seventh edition of the fortnightly government data roundup, we look at the report of NITI Aayog on ‘Mitigation and Management of COVID-19: Compendium of Ayush-Based Practices from Indian States and Union Territories’, Ranking of States on Support to Start-up Ecosystems by Ministry of Commerce and Industry, State Ranking Index for NFSA by Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution, India Rankings 2022 by Ministry of Education, Indices such as CPI and IIP, Second advance crop estimates of area and production of horticultural crops and the Consultation paper on proposed IFSCA(Setting up and Operation of International Branch Campuses and Offshore Education Centres) Regulations, 2022.

In addition to the above reports, some important decisions were made by the Government of India during this fortnight. The first and the major among them is the decision to set up a committee to develop a comprehensive Right to Repair by the Department of Consumer Affairs. This assumes importance in the context of the global initiative of the LiFE movement (Lifestyle for the Environment) announced by the Prime Minister. The idea behind creating a framework for the right to repair in India is to empower local consumers and product buyers, balance trade between original equipment manufacturers and third-party buyers and sellers, emphasise the development of sustainable product consumption and reduce e-waste.

The next set of decisions is of cautionary nature. The Ministry of Consumer Affairs cautioned that no hotels or restaurants can levy service charges by default. This is followed by the issuance of guidelines by the Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) to prevent unfair trade practices and violation of consumer rights. The ministry also warned the Ed-tech companies against unfair trade practices. It also warned of the formulation of stringent guidelines if self-regulation doesn’t work.

On the Agriculture front, a National Conference on Methodology of Crop Estimation, conducted by the Directorate of Economics and Statistics (DES), Department of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare (DA&FW) was held. This conference aimed to discuss the various methodologies used by various agencies for crop estimation, to share their best practices, to analyse the causes for variation between the estimates produced by various agencies, and to determine the best course of action for producing accurate agricultural crop estimates in the future. Another one-day stakeholder consultation was also held on ‘Public Private Partnership in Digital Agriculture’. 

Brief about the report/data:

COVID-19 pandemic severely affected the healthcare systems of almost all nations. Every possible medical intervention was looked at. The Indian medical system has two branches- the modern medicine system and the AYUSH (Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha, and Homeopathy) system. The Ministry of AYUSH also undertook several initiatives in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. Many states and UTs came up with innovations to deal with the pandemic. This report is a compendium of the best practices from the states and Union Territories.

Key Highlights:

• In infrastructure and Human resource management, states like Gujarat, Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra, Goa, Odisha, and Kerala provide best practices. These states utilized the existing facilities and turned them into COVID-19 Care Centres (CCC), operationalized AYUSH specialized CCCs, and some states even formed the State Ayurveda COVID-19 Response Cells.
• On the pandemic surveillance and contact tracing, AYUSH human resources were greatly utilized by the state governments. They were posted at check posts, borders, bus stands, airports and crowded public places to curb the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic.
• Many states have used AYUSH intervention as an adjuvant to standard Care on Prophylactic and Therapeutic Intervention. Prophylaxis is one such key measure against the COVID-19 pandemic. Additionally, states and UTs were given timely and updated guidelines in using AYUSH treatment protocols. 
• On the digital front, through television programmes, radio discussions, Facebook, Twitter, mobile apps, animation, and videography, Ayush-based preventive measures like daily routines, diets, yoga practices, and awareness of other preventive principles were spread. States like Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Gujarat, and Bihar were performers on this front.
• Rajasthan and Himachal Pradesh stand out in support extended to the AYUSH industry by ordering medical supplies. Many states also fast-tracked the licensing or renewal mechanisms based on the recommendations of the Ministry of AYUSH.

Brief about the report:

It is a performance-based index aimed to facilitate the ease of setting up a business start-up and the creation of conducive environments to create a facilitative ecosystem. It was initiated in 2018, consisting of 26 action points and a total score of 100. Out of these 26 action points, 8 points were based on the feedback received. States are ranked into five categories – Best Performers, Top Performers, Leaders, Aspiring Leaders, and Emerging Start-up Ecosystems.

Key Highlights:

• Gujarat and Karnataka emerged as Best Performers for states, and Meghalaya stood top for UTs and the North-eastern region. Kerala, Maharashtra, Odisha, and Telangana stood as Top Performers. Jammu & Kashmir emerged as the Top Performer among UTs and NE states.
• Assam, Punjab, Tamil Nadu, Uttarakhand, and Uttar Pradesh were adjudged the winners in the Leaders category among states; Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Arunachal Pradesh and Goa bagged the Leaders honour among the UTs and NE states. Chhattisgarh, Delhi, Madhya Pradesh, and Rajasthan were declared Aspiring Leaders among the States. Chandigarh, Dadra and Nagar Haveli & Daman and Diu, Himachal Pradesh, Manipur, Nagaland, Puducherry, and Tripura were the Aspiring Leaders from the UTs and NE states. 
• Andhra Pradesh and Bihar from the States category and Mizoram and Ladakh from the UTs/NE States were clubbed under the Emerging Start-up Ecosystem. 

Brief about the study:

The “State ranking Index for NFSA” tries to track the status and development of the National Food Security Act’s (NFSA) implementation and other reform activities across the nation. The reforms undertaken by the states are highlighted, a cross-learning environment is created, and these measures are scaled up by all the states and union territories. The current Index focuses mostly on NFSA Distribution and will eventually incorporate procurement and PMGKAY Distribution. The three main pillars that form the foundation of the index, NFSA—coverage, targeting, and provisions of the Act; delivery platform; and nutrition initiatives, are used to rank the states and UTs cover the full implementation of NFSA through TPDS. This Index is established to address issues of food security and hunger while fostering competition, cooperation, and learning among states. This is the first edition of this index.

Key highlights:

• Among the general category states, Odisha, Uttar Pradesh, and Andhra Pradesh emerged as the top three states in their performance.
• Among the North-eastern states, Union Territories, and Island Regions, Tripura, Himachal Pradesh, and Sikkim emerged as the top three performers.
• In the comprehensive country-level Index, Odisha, Uttar Pradesh, and Andhra Pradesh top the index, while Manipur, Meghalaya, and Ladakh stand at the bottom of the index.
• Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh, Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu scored nearly full indicator level scores and stood the highest in terms of coverage, targeting and implementing provisions of NFSA. 
• Telangana, Bihar, and Andhra Pradesh had the best delivery platform showcasing the efficiency of the TPDS.

Brief about the report:

CPI measures the changes in the price level of goods and services that are consumed in a household. It has a fixed basket of goods and services that includes Food and Beverages; Pan, tobacco, and intoxicants; clothing and footwear; housing; fuel and light, and miscellaneous. Each of these categories has weights assigned to them. Along with this, the Consumer Food Price Index (CFPI) is also measured, which is the change in prices of food products consumed by the population. The base year had been changed from 2010 to 2012 from 2015 onwards and the data is collected from 1181 village markets and 1114 urban markets across the country. It is a Laspeyre’s index, which is calculated as, CPI – (Total cost of a fixed basket of goods and services in a particular period*100)/ (Total cost of a fixed basket of goods & services in base period)

Key Highlights:

• The final CPI combined (Rural+ Urban) general rate stood at 7.04% for May-2022, while June-2022’s provisional combined stood at 7.01%. This marks an increase from April-2021’s combined rate of 6.26%.
• The combined CFPI for May-2022 stood at 7.97%, while the provisional CFPI for June 2022 stood at 7.75%. This shows a significant increase from the June-2021 figure of 5.51%. 

Significance of the report:

• The continuous breaching of the upper tolerance level of inflation targets shows a worrisome picture of the Indian economy. In fact, the previous time inflation stood below 4% before the pandemic in 2019. This upward trend has ripple effects on other aspects of the economy.
• CPI covers a fixed basket of goods & services that cover all aspects an average Indian household consumes. Therefore, it gives an indication of the cost of living and the currency’s value. The rising level of CPI indicates a growing burden on pockets of common people.
• Rising CPI indicates the loss of purchasing power of the currency. If this constant rise in CPI is unchecked and becomes uncontrollable, it could become a lethal force in the economy.

Brief about the report:

This index measures the changes in the level of industrial production in the economy. It indicates the mood of the industrial activity in the country. The base year for this index is 2011-12, and it is assigned a value of 100. While the annual survey of industries gives a complete and detailed picture of industrial activity, this index gives a short-term analysis of industrial performance. The data for this index is sourced from 14 different agencies like the Indian Bureau of Mines, coffee board, tea board, and central electricity authority. 

For this index, industrial production is categorized into three sectors – Mining (14.2%), Manufacturing (75.5%), and Electricity (10.3%). The values in the brackets denote their relative weights. Alternatively, there is also a ‘use-based’ classification of goods – primary goods (34.05%), capital goods (8.22%), intermediate goods (17.22%), infrastructure goods (12.34%), consumer durables (12.84%), and consumer non-durables (15.33%). 

Key Highlights:

• The IIP for May 2022-23 stands at 137.7, which was 115.1 during May 2021-22. Among the sectors, electricity topped with a score of 199.9, followed by manufacturing and mining at 134.5 and 120.1.
• According to the use-based classification, primary goods stood at 144.5, capital goods at 95.3, intermediate goods at 152.2, and infrastructure goods at 153.1. The indices for consumer non-durables stood at 113.5 and that of consumer durables was at 136.8. 
• The majority of the goods have shown improvement over the May 2021-22 values, with consumer durables and non-durables also registering a rise.

Significance:

• Stronger IIP indicates the growing demand and recovery of the economy. 

Brief about the report:

• India is now the second largest producer of fruits and vegetables in the world and is the leader in several horticultural crops, namely Mango, Banana, Papaya, Cashew, Areca nut, Potato and Okra. Together, fruits and vegetables account for 90% of the horticulture crop production.
• Compared to the traditional agricultural sector, horticulture is more remunerative, and demand-driven, providing employment opportunities across this sector.

Key highlights of the report:

• An increase of 2.1% is estimated in the horticulture production in 2021-22 (341.63 million Tonnes), as compared to 2020-21(334.60 million Tonnes).
• Fruits production is estimated to increase from 102.48 million Tonne in 2020-21 to 107.10 million Tonnes in 2021-22. 
• Vegetable production is estimated to increase from 200.45 million Tonne in 2020-21 to 204.61 million Tonnes in 2021-22. 
• Onion production is estimated to increase from 26.64 million Tonne in 2020-21 to 31.70 million Tonnes in 2021-22. 
• Potato production is estimated to decrease from 56.17 million Tonne in 2020-21 to 53.58 million Tonnes in 2021-22. 
• Tomato production is expected to be decreased from 21.18 million Tonne in 2020-21 to 20.34 million Tonnes in 2021-22. 

Significance:

• These estimates provide a broad outlook on the nature and characteristics of the cropping year. It provides the governments with adequate time to initiate policy actions depending on the nature of the estimates.
• The difference between the targeted production and the estimates gives an insight into the different aspects that contributed to the shortfall/gain, thereby indicating to account for those things in the future.

Brief about the report:

The MHRD adopted the National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF), which was introduced in 2015. This framework provides a mechanism for classifying educational institutions across the nation. To determine the broad criteria for rating different colleges and institutions, the process is based on the overall recommendations and broad understanding reached by a Core Committee established by MHRD. The below table shows the criteria.

Key highlights of the report:

• Indian Institute of Technology, Madras keeps its top spot in the overall category and engineering for record-breaking fourth and seventh consecutive years, respectively.
• For the seventh year in a row, the Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru, leads the Universities Category. For the second year in a row, it was first in the category of research institutions.
• IIM Ahmedabad continues to hold the top spot in the Management discipline for a third straight year.
• For the fifth year running, All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi, holds the top position in the medical field. Additionally, AIIMS is listed for the first time in the Overall category at position 9.
• For the fourth year in a row, Jamia Hamdard leads the pharmacy rankings.
• For the sixth year running, Miranda House remains at the top of the list of colleges.
• IIT Roorkee is now in first place in Architecture subject for the second consecutive year.

Brief about the report:

The International Financial Services Center Authority (IFSCA) proposes to notify the world-class foreign universities and other foreign educational institutions that wish to establish international branch campuses (IBCs) or offshore education centres (OECs) in the GIFT International Financial Services Centre (GIFSC) for offering courses and programmes in the subject areas of financial management, fintech, sciences, technology, engineering, and mathematics.

Key Highlights:

• These regulations are applicable to a foreign university to establish an International Branch Campus (IBC) or an Offshore Educational Center (OEC) in the GIFT International Financial Services Centre, subject to the satisfaction of eligibility criteria.
• Participation can be in the form of IBC or OEC, including any arrangements with Indian Universities in areas such as infrastructure facility provision, co-investment, minimum capitalization and so on.
• These regulations, including any circulars issued by the IFSCA, shall be the sole legal framework in the operationalization of foreign universities or foreign educational institutions.
• It shall be the responsibility of IBC or OEC to protect and safeguard the interests of the students in the event of discontinuation or disruption of a course or a programme. It must provide an alternative recourse to the affected students.
• All the transactions undertaken by the IBC or OEC shall be in foreign currency only.
• IBC or OEC shall maintain records and documents as specified by IFSCA. The registered entities must submit an annual report of their performance, including the statistics about student admissions, fees collection, and investments made. 

Featured Image: Government Data Roundup