Following the leak of an NSO report on consumer spending, which found that the same had reached a four-decade low on the heels of lower household spending and food consumption, the government on Friday said that the report was held back from official release due to ‘data quality issues’.
In a statement, the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation said, “In view of the data quality issues, the Ministry has decided not to release the Consumer Expenditure Survey results of 2017-2018. The Ministry is separately examining the feasibility of conducting the next Consumer Expenditure Survey in 2020-2021 and 2021-22 after incorporating all data quality refinements in the survey process.”
The survey was initially believed to have been withheld due to its adverse findings. The MOSPI statement responded to this, saying, "The Ministry has seen the media reports regarding consumer expenditure survey by the NSS stating that consumer spending is falling and the report has been withheld due to its ‘adverse’ findings. We would like to emphatically state that there is a rigorous procedure for vetting of data and reports which are produced through surveys. All such submissions which come to the Ministry are draft in nature and cannot be deemed to be the final report."
The statement went on to detail the reasons behind withholding the survey.
"Further, the results of the survey were examined and it was noted that there was a significant increase in the divergence in not only the levels in the consumption pattern but also the direction of the change when compared to the other administrative data sources like the actual production of goods and services. Concerns were also raised about the ability/sensitivity of the survey instrument to capture consumption of social services by households especially on health and education. The matter was thus referred to a Committee of experts which noted the discrepancies and came out with several recommendations including a refinement in the survey methodology and improving the data quality aspects on a concurrent basis. The recommendations of the Committee are being examined for implementation in future surveys."
Business Standard had leaked a part of the survey on Thursday, showing that the average amount of money spent per person had dropped from Rs 1,501 in 2011-12 to 1,446 in 2017-18. In rural areas, individuals spent Rs 1,110 in 2017-18 compared to Rs 1,217 in 2011-12. Per capita expenditure in urban areas increased slightly, however, from Rs 2,212 to Rs 2,256.
Rural areas also saw a drastic decrease in food consumption, by 9.8 per cent, while in urban areas, this grew by 0.2 per cent.
The Congress on Friday attacked the Modi government over the survey results, with former party chief Rahul Gandhi saying that "Modinomics stinks so bad" the Centre has to hide its own reports.
Party general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra also took a swipe at the government, saying the Modi dispensation is making history by "driving people into poverty".
The report also claimed the NSO report was approved to be released on June 19 this year but was withheld by the government agency owing to its "adverse" findings.
“Modinomics stinks so bad, the government has to hide its own reports," Rahul Gandhi said in a tweet, tagging the news report.
Gandhi tweeted, "Consumer spending in India has collapsed. Successive governments have striven tirelessly to combat poverty and empower the people. This government is making history by driving people into poverty: while rural India faces the dire consequences of their policies, the BJP ensures that their corporate friends become richer by the day."
With inputs from PTI
