Economist Lord Meghnad Desai has demanded that the Indian government appoint an expert commission on data collection, and said that Indians need a better picture of the economy than what they have had till now.
Speaking to The Hindu following the launch of a postgraduate certificate course in data sciences at the Meghnad Desai Academy of Economics at Cuffe Parade last week, Mr. Desai said there was a need to overhaul the country’s data collection methods and definitions of jobs and livelihood. “I think once the elections are over, we ought to use some cloud data and data analysis to find out what the situation of the economy really is, what different things we could do, what livelihood strategies there are, how income is generated and what all would people do to earn money.”
Mr. Desai emphasised the need for machinery for the collection of data. “Whichever government is elected — I think it will most likely be the same government — we can have a calm and cool look at the nature of data collection in the country. We need machinery for data collection. Very soon the whole economy is going to be online and digitised.”
While India was once a pioneer in data collection, Mr. Desai said the country is no longer in a good position. “With the fantastic management and engineering schools, India can build data analysis capabilities for itself and be as good as anybody else in the field. The government ought to appoint a commission and an expert commission on data collection, on the nature of economic data in the country — to understand if it is all working properly, if we are fishing out new developments in the economy and much more. We have very good statisticians in the country,” Mr. Desai said.
