India's statistical system can reclaim past glory, PMO acted as catalyst: PK Mishra

📌 Summary:

• Principal Secretary to PM, PK Mishra, said modernisation of the statistics ministry is a "success story", with the PMO acting as a "catalyst and facilitator" (20th Statistics Day, MoSPI, marking PC Mahalanobis's birth anniversary)
• India's statistical system, once among the world's finest survey-based systems (from the 1950s), saw a "gradual decline"; drew sharp criticism during 2014-2016
• Criticism followed the government junking the 2017-18 Consumer Expenditure Survey (citing data quality) and concerns that CPI and GDP had become outdated
• PMO began discussions in Jan 2020 (with MoSPI, NITI Aayog, World Bank); a July 2023 decision launched an in-depth analysis to identify major reforms
• Issues identified: non-release/delays of data, fragmented statistical architecture, uneven data quality across agencies/states, declining professional capacity, disconnect from user needs
• Result: new GDP, CPI and WPI series with updated base years and improved methodologies; EAC-PM, National Statistical Commission and RBI were roped into the reform

🎯 UPSC Relevance: GS3 Economy / GS2 Governance — credibility of official statistics, data governance, and evidence-based policymaking.

📝 Prelims Facts:

• MoSPI = Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation; Statistics Day marks PC Mahalanobis's birth anniversary (June 29)
• Key indices reformed: GDP, CPI, WPI (new base years)
• National Statistical Commission and EAC-PM involved

🔑 Key Term: Base year — the reference year against which price/output indices (GDP, CPI, WPI) are measured; periodic revision keeps data representative.