(07 May 2022) Government Data Roundup: Monthly payroll reporting, CRS, reports on currency & finance are among the data released recently

In the second edition of the ‘Government Data Roundup’, we cover monthly payroll reporting by MoSPI, Quarterly Report on Employment Scenario, RBI’s report on Currency and Finance 2021-22, Vital Statistics based on Civil Registration System 2020, and Rural Health Statistics. 

Making government data available to the public is important as it helps in ensuring transparency in government working & accountability of the various programs undertaken. Public or Government Data is now being extensively used in almost every aspect of governance by policymakers, Central/ State Governments officials, researchers, journalists, etc. The data is also important for creating public value through the following activities:

• Planning: Data is vital for formulating policies, planning interventions, and for forecasting. It is also required for identifying the right beneficiary. For instance, understanding the socio-economic status of the citizens is necessary to design a poverty alleviation scheme. Likewise, data on crime helps analyse crime patterns, locate the criminal networks and hotspots of potential crimes, etc. which helps authorities take preventive & corrective measures.
• Delivery: Data can also help inform and improve policy implementation and responsiveness of government. It also helps in identifying factors influencing the delivery and making necessary modifications on time, to ensure that the objective of the policy is met on time. 
• Monitoring & Evaluation: Data is also useful for monitoring & evaluation of initiatives vis-à-vis the stated objectives. 

Considering the significance of data, Factly had launched a fortnightly government data roundup which is a compilation of the data released by the government during the past two weeks with information about the type of the data, the sector to which the data relates, the frequency of release, and a brief about the data. In this second edition of the Government data roundup, we look at some of the important reports released by various ministries across the sectors of health, environment, demography, labour and employment, and finance in the last fortnight up to 05 May 2022. 

Brief about the data:

The Ministry of Statistics & Programme Implementation started publishing this data since April 2018 covering the period from September 2017 onwards. Information on the number of subscribers under three major schemes- the Employees’ Provident Fund (EPF) Scheme, the Employees’ State Insurance (ESI) Scheme and the National Pension Scheme (NPS) is published in these reports. 

Key Highlights:

• Over 5.18 crore new subscribers joined the Employees Provident Fund (EPF) scheme between September 2017 and February 2022. About 8.24 lakh new subscribers joined the EPF scheme in February 2022, less than in the previous month. In January 2022, close to 9.25 lakh new subscribers joined the scheme.
• Between September 2017 and February 2022, 6.34 crore new subscribers joined the Employees State Insurance Corporation scheme. The number of new ESI subscribers during February 2022 was 12.56 lakh, down from 12.99 lakh in January 2022. 
• Under the NPS of Central Government, State Governments and Corporate schemes, 32.9 lakh new subscribers joined the scheme between September 2017 and February 2022. 

Significance:

The monthly data on the payroll reporting in the country is based on the administrative records available with selected government agencies. It gives different perspectives on the level of employment in the formal sector in the country. However, it does not measure employment at a holistic level. 

Brief about the report:

The report provides quarterly updates about employment vacancies, training, and other related parameters for selected nine (9) sectors of the non-farm economy over successive quarters. The nine (9) sectors which account for 85% of the total employment in the non-farm establishments in the country viz; Manufacturing, Construction, Trade, Transport, Education, Health, Accommodation & Restaurants, Information Technology (IT) & Business Process Outsourcing (BPO), and Financial Services. Detailed information on the methodology and limitations of the survey was published by Factly earlier.

Key Highlights: 

• The estimated total employment in the nine selected sectors was 3.145 crores in the third quarter (October to December 2021) of 2021-22. This was about 3.08 crores and 3.1 crores in the first and second quarters, respectively.
• The share of self-employed workers has increased from 1.6% in the first quarter to 2.1% in the third quarter. Meanwhile, contractual, and fixed-term employment has increased while regular employment has dropped.
• A detailed story on the third QES report has been published by Factly. 

Significance:

The Quarterly Employment Survey report is important as it gives insights into the change of employment over the previous quarters and other related parameters such as sector, size of employment unit, type of employment, etc. But the scope of the survey is restricted to units with 10 or more employees that emerged/were established prior to the 6^th Economic Census in 2013-14. Furthermore, the survey is based on either records or responses of the establishments and verification of records has not been done for the collection of data. 

Brief about the publication:

Sarvekshana is a biannual technical Journal of the National Statistical Office. The first issue was published in 1977. The latest issue for March 2021 is the 112^th issue. The journal publishes analytical articles based on the data collected through NSS, other surveys and censuses. Unpublished papers from students, researchers, Government officials and others working on survey and census data including the methodology adopted are published in the journal. 

List of papers published:

• Is Housing Poverty Improving in Urban India by H.S. Chopra 
• Issues and Challenges in Estimating Catastrophic Health spending in India by Sanjay K Mohanty, Anshul Kastor and Laxmikant Diwedi 
• Street Vendors in Food Service Activities and their Spatial Distribution by B. B. Singh 
• Trends and Patterns of Combined Inequality in India: An analysis across major States from 1983 to 2011-12 by Debasish Mondal and Aniruddha Kayet

Significance: 

The journal brings a deeper understanding of the socio-economic development of the country. Numerous perspectives are included in it, including a critical analysis of survey techniques and findings of the NSS Surveys. Moreover, the journal provides a platform for encouraging research and analysis among academia and officials in the Government on various socio-economic aspects especially based on the surveys conducted as part of the National Sample Survey (NSS). 

About the report: 

This annual report was first published in 1937 and has contributors from the Department of Economic and Policy Research (DEPR). It reviews the economic developments in the country during the previous financial year emphasizing the policy decisions of the Government. Since 1998-99, the report has adopted a theme-based approach, and so a detailed economic analysis of the issues related to the theme is presented in the report. 

The theme for the 2020-21 report is “Revive and Reconstruct” focusing on a durable recovery post-COVID. The pandemic struck India hard resulting in among the biggest pandemic-induced losses in the world in terms of output, lives, and livelihoods. While this may take years to recover, the Russia-Ukraine conflict has also affected recovery. Record high commodity prices, weaker global growth outlook and tighter global financial conditions have arisen out of the conflict. Amidst such a scenario, the report has come up with policy suggestions for the growth post the pandemic.

Key Findings:

• India is expected to overcome COVID-19 losses in 2034-35.
• The output losses for individual years have been worked out to Rs 19.1 lakh crores, Rs 17.1 lakh crores and Rs 16.4 lakh crores for 2020- 21, 2021-22 and 2022-23. 

Significance:

The report lists key areas to focus on, and policy suggestions for economic growth which has a direct impact on people. This year’s report which focuses on the pandemic-induced losses, has also looked at sector-wise structural issues, the need for reviving the rural economy, PLI schemes, labour reforms, etc. and called for ensuring social security of employees. 

About the report: 

The report gives an overview of the working of the Civil Registration System (CRS) in the country. It presents a compilation of data on registered births, deaths, infant deaths and stillbirths with rural-urban & sex-wise break-up and sex ratio at birth based on Civil Registration Records. The report is prepared based on the statutory Annual Statistical Report prepared by the Chief Registrars of Births & Deaths of States/UTs.

Key findings:

• 1.3% of the total registered deaths during 2020 received medical attention from qualified allopathic professionals or practitioners of other systems whereas 45% of the people who died had not received any medical attention at the time of death in 2020.
• The number of registered births in 2020 was 2.42 crores, down from 2.48 crores in 2019.

Significance:

Civil Registration is a continuous, permanent, compulsory recording of the occurrence and characteristics of vital events, like births, deaths and stillbirths which are important for planning, monitoring, and evaluating various programs related to primary health care, family planning, maternal and child health, education, etc. This year’s report is significant as it helps evaluate the effect of the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic.

About the report:

The Rural Health Statistics report is based on the healthcare administrative data provided by states/UTs such as physical infrastructure, functional facilities, and human resources available in the rural, urban, and tribal areas across the country as of 31 March of the financial year for which the report has been made. Data for 2015 and 2021 have been compared in this report. 

Key Findings: 

• Overall, there is a shortfall of 79.9% of specialists, including 83.2% of Surgeons, 74.2% of Obstetricians & Gynaecologists, 82.2% of Physicians and 80.6% of Paediatricians at the CHCs as compared to the requirement for existing CHCs in rural areas.
• Though the number of allopathic doctors at PHCs has increased by 56.2% since 2005, there is still a shortfall of 4.3% of allopathic doctors at rural PHCs.

Significance:

The statistics in the report are helpful to plan for strengthening the rural healthcare infrastructure by studying the trend, requirements, and availability. Moreover, data on urban health infrastructure has also been included in recent publications to increase the scalability of the publication. The publication also helps in planning and executing programs for ensuring healthcare for all.

In addition to these, the monthly reports on WPI, CPI, etc. have also been released, which have been discussed in the previous roundup.