THE UNFOLDING TRAGEDY OF INDIAN DATA

There is very little recognition of the extent to which our understanding of the economic and social characteristics of our country depends on sample surveys conducted by various government statistical agencies, particularly the National Sample Survey Office (NSSO). Practically all social indicators, except a very few collected in the Population Census, are obtained from surveys. As far as the economy is concerned, nearly half our GDP comes from the informal sector, including agriculture. Since people in the informal sector do not maintain detailed books of account, surveys are the