(27 February 2023) Government Data Roundup: Reports by RBI, Registrar General, NITI Aayog Among The Data/Reports Released Recently

The 23rd edition of the fortnightly government roundup covers reports released by the Reserve Bank of India, NITI Aayog, and the Office of the Registrar General & Census Commissioner, India (ORGI).

In this 23^rd edition of the Fortnightly Government Data Roundup, we look at the reports released by the Reserve Bank of India, NITI Aayog, and the Office of the Registrar General & Census Commissioner, India (ORGI). The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India also released a Consultation Paper. 

Compendium of 75 Agri Entrepreneurs and Innovators

About the report

There are multiple initiatives of the Government of India such as the Animal Husbandry Startup Grand Challenge launched by the Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairy in partnership with the Startup India programme, Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana, National e-Governance Plan in Agriculture (NeGPA), etc. which aim to encourage entrepreneurship in the domain of agriculture and allied sectors. 

The report consists of 75 success stories of agriculture-technology entrepreneurs who have helped in creating employment for rural youth and women across the country. Efforts have been made to include as many women entrepreneurs as possible in the report along with stories from SHGs, FPOs, social movements, farmers, etc. 

Key findings

In addition to the basic details such as name, contact, and location, the success stories include an overview of the Start-Ups, the business models adopted, the technology used, and the impact generated. The report highlights that technology is the best facilitator to bring Agriculture 4.0, the Fourth Agriculture Revolution in India. Technology-aided agriculture has the potential to improve the overall efficiency of agricultural operations and supply chains. It added that the next ten years are expected to be extremely conducive for the growth of agri-tech startups as the pandemic led to prospects and opportunities mushrooming across the agricultural value chains. Further, it asserted that Indian agritech startups should take active steps to capitalize on the opportunity to transform the face of the agriculture sector by leveraging technology. 

Sample Registration System (SRS) – Cause of Death in India 2017-2019

Brief about the report

Data on the levels and causes of mortality is necessary to determine the public health importance of specific health problems and in designing appropriate interventions to reduce mortality. The report on ‘Causes of Death in India’ under the domain of Sample Registration System (SRS) is released on an annual basis to ensure the availability of reliable, timely, representative, and relevant information on causes of death due to diseases, injuries and risk factors for the entire cross-section of the population in the country.

The report is based on direct source and provides causes of death classified by age, sex, and residence for all states including empowered action group states and Assam & other States and major zones across the country. The top ten causes of death stratified by different variables besides examining the mortality from special conditions such as cardiovascular disease, malignant & other neoplasms, diabetes mellitus, tuberculosis, malaria, and HIV/AIDS have been covered in the report.

Key Highlights

• Non-communicable diseases are the leading causes of death in the country, constituting 56% of all deaths. Communicable, maternal, perinatal, and nutritional conditions constitute another 21.5% of deaths.
• The leading cause of death is cardiovascular disease (28.9%), followed by ill-defined conditions, all other symptoms, signs, and abnormal clinical and laboratory findings including senility (12.2%), respiratory diseases (7.3%), malignant and other neoplasms (6.8%), fever of unknown origin (5%), Digestive diseases (5%), unintentional injuries other than motor vehicle accidents (4%), perinatal conditions (3.7%), respiratory infections (3.6%) and motor vehicle accidents (3.6%).
• Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death in all the regions of India, with the highest proportion in the Southern region (33%) and the lowest in the Central region (21.4%). The second leading cause of death varies across all regions.
• Accidents are a major cause of death in the 15-29 age group.

RBI Occasional Papers

About the publication

The objective of the Reserve Bank of India Occasional Papers is to publish high-quality research produced by the staff of the RBI on a broad array of issues of interest to a large audience including academics and policymakers. The papers selected for publications are subject to intense review by internal and external referees.

Key Highlights

This issue contains four articles and three book reviews. These are 

Articles

• Carbon Dioxide Emissions from India’s Manufacturing Sector: A Decomposition Analysis
• Sensitivity of Pension Liabilities of Banks to Various Actuarial Assumptions
• Do Bank Mergers Improve Efficiency? The Indian Experience
• Behaviour of Credit, Investment and Business Cycles: The Indian Experience

Book Reviews

• In Defense of Public Debt by Barry Eichengreen, Asmaa El-Ganainy, Rui Esteves, and Kris James Mitchener
• Geopolitics, Supply Chains, and International Relations in East Asia Edited by Etel Solingen
• Chain Reaction: How Blockchain Will Transform the Developing World by Paul Domjan, Gavin Serkin, Brandon Thomas, and John Toshack

Competitiveness and Determinants of Agricultural Exports – Evidence from India

About the publication

The Reserve Bank of India introduced the RBI Working Papers series in March 2011. These papers present research in progress of the staff members of the RBI and at times also those of external co-authors, when the research is jointly undertaken. They are disseminated to elicit comments and further debate which may be forwarded to the authors. 

Key Findings

This paper explores the relative export competitiveness (REC) of eight agricultural commodities (rice, wheat, maize, gram, groundnut, onion, bovine meat, and shrimp) from 1990 to 2020 since domestic and global commodity price cycles influence India’s export competitiveness of agricultural commodities. 

• It found that India’s rice exports were most competitive during the study period, followed by groundnut, shrimp, gram, onion, and bovine meat.
• Higher competitiveness, elevated global prices relative to domestic prices and a stable export policy contributed to improved agricultural export performance.
• India must expand its trading partners by shaping alliances through bilateral and free trade agreements. India should increase value addition and product differentiation through the promotion of processed and organic commodity exports. Apart from forming agri-clusters through ‘One District One Product’, there is also a need to develop organic or pesticide-free clusters through FPOs to increase the export of organic products to high-income countries.

Consultation Paper on ‘Introduction of Digital Connectivity Infrastructure Provider Authorization under Unified License (UL)’

About the paper

A robust Digital Connectivity Infrastructure (DCI) is necessary for economic development both by increasing productivity and by providing amenities that enhance the quality of life. Many countries have aligned their telecom licensing framework to increase the utilization of resources, reduction of cost, attract investment and strengthen the service delivery segment by segregating the infrastructure/network layer and service/ application layers. The advantage of such frameworks is that they simplify the licensing process and provide a more conducive environment for market growth and improvement of the socioeconomic welfare of the society while considering the convergence of technologies.

Even the National Digital Communications Policy (NDCP-2018) emphasizes a lot on digital infrastructure stating that ‘Digital infrastructure and services are increasingly emerging as key enablers and critical determinants of a country’s growth and well-being’. NDCP-2018 also envisages ‘Enabling unbundling of different layers (e.g., infrastructure, network, services, and applications layer) through differential licensing’, as one of the strategies for fulfilling its ‘Propel India’ mission.

In light of this, TRAI seeks the views of stakeholders on the proposed DCIP authorization under the Unified License. Written comments on the Consultation Paper are invited from stakeholders by 09 March 2023. 

RBI Monthly Bulletin

The Monthly RBI Bulletin for the month of February 2023 revealed that Indians spent nearly USD 1,138 million on travel as per data of the Outward Remittances under the LRS in the month of December 2022 alone. Indians spent more than a billion US dollars in the months of November and December 2022, for international travel. More details about the RBI bulletin were covered in an earlier edition of the Fortnightly Government Data Roundup.

RBI Forward-Looking Surveys

Apart from these, the results of RBI’s Forward-Looking Surveys which are carried out on a regular basis were released earlier this month. The details of forward-looking surveys have been discussed in the previous editions of the data roundup. The survey results of the following, based on the feedback received from the respondents, were released on the RBI website:

• The Consumer Confidence Survey revealed that consumer confidence improved further both for the current period as well as for the year ahead. 
• Inflation Expectations Survey of Households  found that the Inflation expectation of households rose by 10 bps for three months ahead period whereas their one-year ahead expectations remained unchanged from the November 2022 round of the survey
• OBICUS Survey on manufacturing sector for 2^nd quarter of FY23 highlighted that the aggregate level capacity utilisation for the manufacturing sector improved to 74% in Q2 of FY23.
• As per the Survey of Professional Forecasters on Macroeconomic Indicators– Round 80^th¸ India’s Real GDP is expected to grow by 6.9% in 2022-23 and by 6% in 2023-24.
• Bank Lending Survey for Q3 of FY23 revealed that bankers were optimistic about loan demand during the first half of 2023-24 across the major categories of borrowers
• From the Services and Infrastructure Outlook Survey for Q3 FY23, the respondents in manufacturing and services sector firms are optimistic about the business outlook.
• Industrial Outlook Survey of the Manufacturing Sector for Q3 FY23 also noted that manufacturers were optimistic about demand conditions for the next two quarters.
• Indian economy is expected to grow by 6.9% in 2022-23 and by 6% in 2023-24 as per the Survey of Professional Forecasters on Macroeconomic Indicators– Results of the 79th Round