In order to achieve its goal of becoming a developed economy by 2047, India must know accurately how its people work, make money, spend money and live. Hence, the Union Cabinet has approved ₹4,371 crore for the Viksit Bharat Initiative for Statistical Transformation, Analytics and Research (VISTAR)—a five-year programme that runs until 2030-31 to update the nation’s statistical infrastructure, conduct more surveys, use AI to process data and improve data collection at both the state and district levels. The initiative is designed to address one of the primary weaknesses of policy making: that any decision about economics is only as good as the information used to make it. A large and diverse India cannot be understood through national averages that often mask significant differences among states, districts and communities.
VISTAR aims to provide for 59 surveys over five years—as opposed to 43 major surveys previously—as well as an eighth Economic Census that will locate non-farm businesses and their employees down to gram panchayats and municipal wards. VISTAR will also monitor services and small businesses through mobile phone, retail and e-commerce data to supplement the traditional survey approach. These improvements are particularly important for an economy where informal employment, small enterprises and rapidly-growing digital businesses are difficult to measure using conventional means. State governments can determine which districts are producing jobs and which are lagging, know at a granular level where families are spending less money, and the challenges small businesses are facing. They can assess if public funds are reaching targeted segments. Furthermore, state governments can use VISTAR to evaluate whether government schemes are improving citizens’ lives.
While improving data collection is essential, it represents only one aspect of addressing the problem. Historically, issues related to credibility, timeliness and comparability of official statistics have made working with mountains of data difficult. Although more surveys and advanced technologies promise to improve availability, if the resulting data is not consistent and easily scrutinisable—that is, presented in formats that are uniformly user-friendly—the benefits will be minimal. Achieving India’s objective of being a developed economy requires not only more precise information, but reliable, usable sets that can help guide policies, track progress and hold government officials accountable.
