"Call to Release 2017–18 Consumption Survey to Restore Credibility"
National Statistics Office (NSO)
Central agency compiling India’s national accounts under MoSPI.
Consumer Expenditure Survey (CES)
Quinquennial household survey estimating consumption and CPI weights.
India compiles national accounts through the National Statistics Office (NSO) under the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI). Measuring GDP in India is complicated by the large informal economy and by historical reliance on intermittent household surveys. The older methodology anchored informal-sector estimates to quinquennial Consumer Expenditure Survey (CES) rounds and then projected them forward using formal-sector proxies. That approach left a structural dependence on dated base-year surveys until new continuous surveys were institutionalised. Over the past decade the statistical architecture moved toward direct, frequent measurement with the institutionalisation of the Annual Survey of Unincorporated Sector Enterprises (ASUSE) and the Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS). These surveys aim to provide annual and monthly empirical windows into unincorporated and workforce activity instead of relying on proxy projections.
Survey data and national accounts serve different but linked functions. Household consumption surveys like the CES measure consumption at the unit level and are the basis for price-index weights and micro-level welfare analysis. National accounts aggregate production and expenditure across sectors to produce Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and Gross Value Added (GVA). Methodological changes that affect the informal sector, whether by replacing projected estimates with ASUSE-based figures or by adopting new deflation methods such as double deflation using an output PPI, can change nominal and real GDP levels without implying a contemporaneous change in economic activity. …
Do you agree that the Indian economy has recently experienced a V-shaped recovery? Give reasons.
Do you agree with the view that steady GDP growth and low inflation have left the Indian economy in good shape? Give reasons.
Why does releasing unit-level survey data matter for national accounts credibility?
Which one of the following provides annual data on establishments and GVA in India's unincorporated non-agricultural sector?
Which of the following statements about the 2017-18 consumption survey (as reported) is/are correct?
1.Unit-level microdata was not publicly released.
2.Leaked summaries indicated a 3.7% decline in mean consumption between 2011-12 and 2017-18.
3.Leaked summaries indicated rural consumption declined more sharply than urban consumption.
Select the correct answer using the codes given below:
Consider the following statements about national accounts methodology in India:
1.Double deflation applies separate deflators to outputs and inputs.
2.Adoption of an output PPI helps implement double deflation.
3.Double deflation raises nominal GDP compared with single-stage deflation.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
Match the surveys in Column I with their typical frequency in Column II:
Column I
A.Consumer Expenditure Survey (CES)
B.Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS)
C.Annual Survey of Unincorporated Sector Enterprises (ASUSE)
Column II
1.Annual
2.Quinquennial (traditionally)
3.Monthly or periodic labour round
Choose the correct code:
A B C
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