NEWS: The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC)à Approved the appointment of Dr. Saibal Chattopadhyay as Chairperson along with three part-time members of the National Statistical Commission (NSC).
ABOUT NSC
- An autonomous advisory bodyà Responsible for overseeing and strengthening India's official statistical system.
- Nodal agency for statistical standards, data quality, coordination across the country.
- Aims to ensure credibility, independence, and reliability of official statistics.
- Established based on the recommendations of the Rangarajan Commission (2000).
- Created through a Government Resolution on 1 June 2005.
- Became operational on 12 July 2006.
COMPOSITION
- One Part-time Chairperson.
- Four Part-time Members with expertise in statistics and related fields.
- CEO of NITI Aayog serves as Ex-officio Member.
- Chief Statistician of India acts as Secretary to the Commission.
KEY FUNCTIONS
- Formulates national policies and standards for official statistics.
- Standardizes concepts, definitions, and classification systems.
- Establishes quality benchmarks for major socio-economic indicators.
- Coordinates statistical activities among Central Ministries, States, and UTs.
- Conducts statistical audits to ensure data quality and reliability.
- Reviews and recommends improvements in the Indian Statistical System.
SIGNIFICANCE
- Enhances transparency, credibility, and independence of official data
- Improves evidence-based policymaking and governance.
- Ensures uniform and high-quality statistical standards across India.
- Strengthens public trust in government statistics