Truth, lies and statistics

The inability of pollsters, academic institutions and media organizations to arrive at shared rules on how to conduct and broadcast polls has bred deep mistrust around polling.

Here’s how to rescue the opinion polling business in India

4 min read . 27 Nov 2024

A clear statement from the ministry of statistics and programme implementation (Mospi) could have ended the debate on India's gross domestic production (GDP) numbers.

Official statisticians must learn to communicate better

4 min read . 26 Sep 2023

Although greater use of administrative data can reduce reliance on some kind of surveys, they do not eliminate their need in many other areas. (Photo: HT)

India’s draft policy on official statistics misses the mark

4 min read . 29 Aug 2023

a modern republic requires a collective of engaged data users to ensure that the pulls and pressures of competitive politics do not impair statistical governance.

A data collective can strengthen our statistical system

4 min read . 01 Aug 2023

The NSS review committee was supposed to help speed-up the publication of NSS results, as TCA Anant correctly points out.

India’s statistical system still has questions to answer

4 min read . 19 Jul 2023

A majority of stakeholders feel that India’s statistical system is facing a crisis, and one that has been long in the making. (iStockphoto)

Need a credible plan to fix India’s statistical system

4 min read . 04 Jul 2023

(BLOOMBERG NEWS)

Global rankings that our officialdom never questions

4 min read . 20 Jun 2023

We need to raise the development quotient of the census

We need to raise the development quotient of the census

4 min read . 06 Jun 2023

The trouble with government in fact checking

3 min read . 25 Apr 2023

What they don’t tell you about India’s poverty numbers

3 min read . 11 Apr 2023

Photo: Bloomberg

A whole-of-government effort must unlock public data

4 min read . 27 Mar 2023

We need a national survey to track financial grievances

4 min read . 28 Feb 2023

21st century India needs a real-time fiscal data portal

3 min read . 30 Jan 2023

While income levels tend to be significantly understated in surveys, asset data tend to be more accurate.

What data tells us about the great Indian middle class

4 min read . 17 Jan 2023

Even before the pandemic hit the country, it was the NRC issue that first threw a cloud over the 2021 census. Photo: Mint

How to save the Census of India from disruptions and delays

4 min read . 03 Jan 2023

A delayed economic census exposes a federal faultline

4 min read . 10 Oct 2022

Our wait for a good firm-level database seems endless

4 min read . 26 Sep 2022

Complaints about the IIP have been voiced across governments, and have persisted despite revisions in methodology. Photo: Reuters

The IIP is broken, here’s how to fix it

4 min read . 13 Sep 2022

C.R.Rao: Statistical genius, teacher, institution-builder

4 min read . 16 Aug 2022

The greatest Indian statistical debate

4 min read . 02 Aug 2022