(20 June 2022) Government Data Roundup: Annual PLFS, State Food Safety Index, report of ‘Regulations Review Authority 2.0’ are among the data & reports released recently

In the fifth edition of the ‘Government Data Roundup’, we cover Annual PLFS, State Food Safety Index, report of ‘Regulations Review Authority 2.0’, PLFS based migration report among others.

Factly’s fortnightly government data roundup  is a compilation of the data released by various ministries and departments of the ‘Government of India (GoI)’ in the previous fortnight. In this fifth edition, we look at some of the important reports released across the sectors of labour & employment, fisheries, food safety, and finance.

Compilation of President’s speeches

The Ministries of Education and I&B together released ‘Loktantra ke Swar’ and ‘The Republican Ethic’ which is a compilation of select speeches of the present President of India, Ram Nath Kovind, on a wide range of subjects such as public service, ethics, education, aspirations of our youth, contemporary global issues. The book is the fourth volume in the series featuring his fourth year of presidency. e-books of the same were also released.  A total of 38 speeches have been selected and categorized into eight sections, viz; Addressing the Nation; Educating India, Equipping India; Dharma of Public Service; Honouring Our Sentinels; Spirit of the Constitution and Law; Acknowledging Excellence; Moral Exemplars, Guiding Lights and Window to the World.

MIS Portal for PMMSY

The Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry & Dairying launched an MIS portal for the Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana (PMMSY), under the government’s flagship programme- Digital India. The PMMSY scheme of the fisheries department was launched in 2020 by the Prime Minister with an investment of Rs. 20,050 Crores for the holistic development of Fisheries sector in the country. The aim of the scheme is to drive ecologically health, economically viable, and socially inclusive growth that contributes meaningfully towards the economic prosperity and wellbeing of fishers and fish farmers as well as to the food and nutritional security of the country. The MIS portal of the scheme was launched on 07 June 2022 to ensure effective monitoring of the scheme activities & its progress in the participating states/UTs and use the information for informed decision making. The MIS application aggregates the data from all participating states/UTs, analyses and projects the data in form of a dashboard for sectoral insights.

Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) – Annual Report (July 2020 to June 2021)

Brief about the report

The Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) is carried out on an annual basis to estimate key employment and unemployment indicators such as unemployment rate, labour force participation, worker population ratio, in urban and rural areas. The latest report covering the period from July 2020 to June 2021 is the fourth annual report of the survey which was launched in 2017 by the National Statistical Office to ensure that data pertaining to labour force is available at frequent time intervals. This edition of the survey is significant as it was carried out amidst the pandemic.

Key Highlights

• A total of 12,800 first-stage sampling units (FSUs) (7,024 villages and 5,776 UFS blocks) were allotted for the survey, and a total of 12,562 FSUs were surveyed for canvassing the PLFS schedule. More than 1 lakh households were surveyed including more than 55,000 in rural areas, and close to 45,000 in urban areas. About 4.1 lakh persons were covered in the survey (2.36 lakh from rural and 1.75 lakh from urban areas)
• The unemployment rate reduced by 0.6 percentage points- from 4.8% in 2019-20 to 4.2% in 2020-21. This means that 4.2% of the adults who looked for jobs could not get work in the country in 2020-21.
• The unemployment rate in rural areas was 3.3% and that in urban areas was 6.7% in 2020-21 as compared to 4% and 7% respectively in 2019-20.
• The unemployment rate was higher for males in rural areas at 3.9% while that of females was 2.1%. In urban areas, the unemployment rate was 6.1% for males and 8.6% for females.
• The Labour Force Participation Rate (LFPR) which is the percentage of persons in the labour force (that is, working or seeking work or available for work) in the population was 41.6% during 2020-21, up from 40.1% in 2019-20.
• The Worker Population Ratio was 39.8%, which means that 39.8% of the population was employed. This figure was 38.2% in 2019-20.

Significance

Prior to the launching of PLFS, employment and unemployment surveys were earlier conducted only once in five years as part of the National Sample Surveys. But now, the data is available at both quarterly and annual basis. More details on the Quarterly Periodic Labour Force Survey was earlier published by Factly.

Migration in India (2020-2021)

Brief about the report

Based on the information collected during the Periodic Labour Force Survey, the National Statistical Office released the ‘Migration in India (2020-21)’ report which contains estimates of indicators related to migration and temporary visitors. During the PLFS exercise, additional information was collected on migration particulars of household members and on the temporary visitors in the household who arrived after March 2020 and stayed in the household continuously for a period of 15 days to less than 6 months.

Key Highlights

• Migration rate was 28.9% in the country. In rural areas this was 26.5% while in urban areas, this was 34.9%. The migration rate was 10.7% for men and 47.9% for women.
• Among females, 86.8% of the migration was because of marriage, and 7.3% was because of migration of parent/earning member of family. Only 0.7% females migrated to take up jobs and 0.6% in search of jobs.
• 22.8% of the men migrated in search of jobs while 20.1% migrated to take up employment. 17.5% migrated because of the migration of earning member of family.
• 87.5% of the migration took place within states, while 11.8% was inter-state. 0.7% went abroad.
• Migration to other countries was 3.9% among rural men and 2.3% among urban men.

Report on State Food Safety Index (2021-22)

Brief about the report

Since 2018-19, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has been releasing the State Food Safety Index (SFSI). This is the fourth edition of the SFSI. The index has been developed for measuring the performance of each state on various parameters related to Food Safety. Five significant parameters are considered- Human Resources and Institutional Data, Compliance, Food Testing – Infrastructure and Surveillance, Training & Capacity Building and Consumer Empowerment. Each parameter is given a different weightage. Further, States have been segregated into three categories namely large states, small states and UTs, and are assessed separately within their respective categories.

Key Highlights

• Among large states, Tamil Nadu with a score of 82 out of 100 topped the SFSI for 2021-22 whereas Andhra Pradesh scored 26 and was at the bottom at 17th place.
• Gujarat (77.5) and Maharashtra (70) followed Tamil Nadu, while Himachal Pradesh (65.5), and West Bengal and Madhya Pradesh (58.5) were among the top performing large states.
• On the other hand, Bihar (30), Telangana (34.5), Assam (35), and Chhattisgarh and Haryana (38) were among the poor performing states alongside Andhra Pradesh among large states.
• Among small states, Goa topped the list while Arunachal Pradesh was at the bottom.
• Among Union Territories, Jammu & Kashmir topped the list and Delhi was ranked second.

Report of The Regulations Review Authority 2.0

Brief about the report

In 2021, the RBI set up the Regulations Review Authority (RRA 2.0) with a view to streamline regulatory instructions and rationalize reporting requirements. In the present report, the RRA has given its recommendations on ease of compliance, reducing regulatory burden, streamlining of reporting mechanism, and accessibility to regulatory instructions based on consultations with both internal and external stakeholders.

Key recommendations

• Regulated Instructions should contain a brief statement of objective underlying the rationale for their issuance of instructions. FAQs, illustrations, and guidance notes should also be added wherever necessary.
• RBI has been asked to eliminate paper-based returns
• A process of public consultation for all important regulatory changes be contemplated by RBI.
• 714 regulatory instructions be withdrawn as they have either become obsolete or redundant and have not been explicitly withdrawn.
• A separate web page on ‘Regulatory Reporting’ be created on the RBI website so that all the information relating to regulatory, supervisory, and statutory returns will be available at a single source on the RBI website.
• Master Circulars should be updated in a time-bound manner and eventually be converted into Master Directions, wherever feasible.

Monthly indices, Consumer Confidence Survey were also released

Apart from these, the monthly indices of WPI- based inflation, Consumer Price Index, Index of Industrial Production, and the bi-monthly consumer confidence survey of RBI were also released.

The provisional annual rate of WPI-based inflation was 15.88% for May 2022 as compared to 13.11% in May 2021. This has been attributed to the rise in prices of mineral oils, crude petroleum & natural gas, food articles, basic metals, non-food articles, chemicals & chemical products and food products etc. as compared to the corresponding month of the previous year. According to RBI’s report, the consumer confidence index for May improved to 75.9 from 71.7 in March. The survey noted that the people perceived that the spending would only increase.