NSSO : PUTTING
RECORDS STRAIGHT
R.Anuradha*
he nation-wide surveys
conducted periodically by the National Sample Survey Organisation
(NSSO) under the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation
provide micro-level data on various socio-economic aspects of
the people that relate to key areas of national interest. They
include employment-unemployment situation, consumption-expenditure
patterns, current scenario in the unorganised sector, family living
and health. The data are updated with every new round of survey.
Origin
The
planners and policy makers of newly freed India felt the need
for developing a sound database. On the recommendations of the
National Income Committee chaired by eminent statistician, the
late Prof. P.C. Mahalanobis, a large-scale survey agency known
as the National Sample Survey (NSS) came into existence in 1950.
In March 1970, NSS was reorganised as the National Sample Survey
Organisation (NSSO) under the overall direction of the Governing
Council to maintain objectivity and autonomy in collection, processing
and publication of the data. In addition to the non-official Chairman,
the Governing Council is comprised of 17 experts including five
academics, five data users from Central and State government departments
and senior officers of the Ministry. The Director General and
Chief Executive Officer (DG&CEO) of the NSSO is Member-Secretary
of the Governing Council. It is empowered to take all technical
decisions in respect of survey work.
The NSSO conducts
follow-up survey for Economic Census, fieldwork for Annual Survey
of Industries (ASI), organises pilot surveys on important subject
and collects price-data from rural and urban sectors. Through
urban frame survey, the NSSO prepares frames of sample blocks
in urban areas for various surveys. It also shoulders the responsibility
of guiding the States for developing suitable techniques to obtain
reliable and timely Crop Estimation Surveys.
Surveys
The NSSO is
entrusted with the overall responsibility of assisting the States
in developing suitable survey techniques for crop estimates, providing
training to field personnel and exercising supervision over the
primary field work of area enumeration and crop cutting experiments.
The scheme for Improvement of Crop Statistics (ICS) initiated
in 1973-74 by NSSO, helps in locating the deficiencies in the
system of crop statistics and suggesting remedial measures for
effecting lasting improvements in the system of agricultural statistics
generation.
The scheme covers
16 land record States/UTs and 3 non-land record States. The work
involves sample check of area enumeration work done by the State
primary workers (SPWs or Patwaris) in two non-overlapping and
independent samples of 500 villages each, (total 1000 villages)
in each and checking of about 30,000 crop cutting experiments
conducted by SPWs in an agricultural year in two non-overlapping
samples of equal size. The SPWs are imparted training for the
purpose. The findings of the scheme are brought out in the form
of Statewise and All-India Status Reports for deliberation by
the High Level Co-ordination Committee set up by the State governments.
Household Socio-Economic
Surveys throughout the country are conducted in the form of rounds
of generally 12-month duration. Each survey is devoted to a specified
subject decided as per a 10-year programme. Periodical surveys
are conducted on consumer expenditure, employment and unemployment,
land holding and livestock, debt and investment, social consumption,
health, morbidity and vital statistics, manufacturing, trade and
services in unorganised sector and family-living. The coverage
area is almost entire country except Ladakh and Kargil
districts of Jammu & Kashmir and the interiors of
Nagaland and Andaman & Nicobar Islands. The surveys are conducted
through the enquiry method by qualified and trained field investigators.
States and UTs also participate in the survey at least on a matching
basis. Efforts are on to modernise methods of data collection
and use the latest technology for enabling error-free and speedy
collection of data at field level itself.
The 56th Round
of the NSS was devoted to manufacturing sector besides regular
consumption-expenditure and employment–unemployment. The fieldwork
of the survey was spread over the period July 2000 to June 2001.
The 57th Round of the NSS is also over in which data on economic
and operational characteristics of unorganized enterprises in
the service sector (excluding trade and finance) was collected.
The just finished 58th Round of the NSS (July 2002 - December
2002) was earmarked for collection of data on disability, housing
condition, village facilities and slum particulars besides household
consumer expenditure and employment & unemployment. The Year-long
survey of 59th Round that started in January 2003 is covering
subjects like land and livestock holdings and Debt & Investment.
Situation Assessment Survey . A Millennium Study of Indian Farmers
is also being conducted along with the 59th Round.(PIB Features)
*AIO,
PIB, New Delhi
