New Delhi: India has begun integrating synthetic intelligence (AI) and machine studying (ML) into nationwide surveys to enhance knowledge accuracy, timeliness, and discipline responsiveness, Rao Inderjit Singh, minister of state (Unbiased Cost) for the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation and Planning (MoSPI), stated Wednesday.
In a written response to the Lok Sabha, Singh stated AI and ML are actually being utilized in enterprise-level surveys such because the Capital Expenditure (Capex) survey and the Annual Survey of Unincorporated Sector Enterprises (ASUSE), serving to officers resolve field-level queries in actual time.
The initiative is a part of a broader effort to make India’s statistical structure extra agile and aligned with evolving financial and social situations.
Because the financial system grows extra complicated, Singh stated, modernizing conventional knowledge programs is essential to capturing rising tendencies and enabling well timed coverage selections. The adoption of digital instruments—together with automation and AI—not solely improves velocity and accuracy but additionally shortens the time lag in publishing essential statistics.
“The first knowledge assortment in all surveys is being achieved in a digital platform utilizing Pc Assisted Private Interview (CAPI) or web-based utility with an in-built validation mechanism to make sure consistency on the stage of information assortment,” Singh stated.
“This facilitates real-time submission and validation of survey knowledge and has resulted in a drastic discount within the time lag in releasing survey stories,” he added.
Singh additionally famous that the ministry has rolled out short-duration, modular surveys in sectors akin to telecom and training, geared toward assembly the rising demand for high-frequency, sector-specific socio-economic indicators.
MoSPI performs a central function in guiding India’s data-driven coverage initiatives via a collection of nationwide surveys. Amongst them are the Periodic Labour Pressure Survey (PLFS), which tracks employment tendencies; the Shopper Expenditure Survey (CES), which informs welfare and subsidy insurance policies by detailing family spending patterns; and the Annual Survey of Industries (ASI), which screens industrial output and construction. The ASUSE, in the meantime, gives a window into India’s casual financial system.
In a separate response, Singh stated the federal government can also be working to develop the attain and granularity of those surveys by involving states and union territories extra deeply within the course of. Starting January 2025, the sampling design of most ongoing surveys has been revised to generate district-level estimates, with every district now handled as a primary stratum, he stated.
The transfer aligns with the Centre’s broader agenda on knowledge reform. Within the Union Price range 2024-25, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman highlighted efforts to strengthen knowledge governance and modernize knowledge programs beneath India’s next-generation coverage framework.
The federal government additionally plans to streamline knowledge assortment, processing, and administration by leveraging sectoral databases developed via the Digital India Mission.
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