In India, various agencies and organisations conduct studies and surveys as well as publish reports on a regular basis covering diverse aspects of the economy. Each research and publication focuses on a particular section of the country and analyses its performance and happenings.
Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is the most important organisation which publishes information and data on all sectors of the economy in its annual, quarterly, monthly, weekly and occasional publications. They include:-
- Annual report is a statutory document relating to the financial year of the Reserve Bank (July to June), released every year in late August. It is the statement of the Board of Directors on the state of the economy and on the balance sheet of the Reserve Bank. It also presents an assessment and prospects of the Indian economy.
- Report on Trend and Progress of Banking in India is also a statutory publication produced annually to review the policies and performance of the financial sector for the preceding year. The publication, covering period from April to March, is generally released around November/December.
- Report on Currency and Finance is an annual document which dwells around a particular theme and presents a detailed economic analysis of the issues related to the theme. Since the publication is released around December, it also serves the purpose of presenting a mid-year review of the economy.
- Handbook of Statistics on Indian Economy is a major initiative by the Reserve Bank aimed at improving data dissemination by providing a useful storehouse of statistical information at one place. The publication provides time-series data (annual/quarterly/monthly/fortnightly/daily) pertaining to a broad spectrum of economic variables, including data on national income, output, prices, money, banking, financial markets, public finance, trade and balance of payments.
- State Finances : A Study of Budgets is a publication which provides a comprehensive analytical assessment of the finances of the State Governments.
- Macroeconomic and Monetary Developments provides an analytical overview of macroeconomic and monetary developments during the year under review. The publication serves as a backdrop and rationale of the monetary policy for the year.
- Statistical Tables relating to Banks in India is an annual publication containing comprehensive data relating to the commercial banking sector. It covers balance sheet information as well as performance indicators of each commercial bank in India including those registered abroad.
- Basic Statistical Returns is another data-oriented publication which presents comprehensive data on number of offices, employees, deposits and credit as per occupation of scheduled commercial banks.
- RBI Bulletin is a monthly publication released in the first week of every month. It publishes analytical articles based on data collected by the Reserve Bank and carries speeches of the Governor, Deputy Governors and Executive Directors. Other useful inclusions in the Bulletin are important press releases and circulars issued by different departments of the Reserve Bank and data relating to economy, finance and banking.
- Weekly Statistical Supplement to the RBI Bulletin presents the weekly balance sheet of the Reserve Bank and other developments relating to financial, commodity and bullion markets. This is published on every Friday.
'Economic Division' of the Ministry of Finance examines trends in the economy and undertakes techno-economic studies all of which helps to keep a close watch on economic developments, both internally and externally. It also issues selected economic indicators on monthly basis and prepares Economic Survey on an annual basis. The economic survey reviews the major developments and trends in the economy for a given year and bring out the guidelines and considerations relevant for formulation of budgetary and economic policies for the coming year.
Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation is the apex organization for disseminating reliable and credible statistics consistent with international standards. For this purpose, the Ministry has a 'Statistical Wing' which consists of Central Statistical Organisation (CSO) and National Sample Survey Organisation (NSSO).
Central Statistical Organisation (CSO) is responsible for coordination of statistical activities in the country and maintaining statistical standards. Its activities include National Income Accounting; conduct of Annual Survey of Industries, Economic Censuses and its follow up surveys, compilation of Index of Industrial Production (IIP), as well as Consumer Price Indices for Urban Non-Manual Employees, etc.
National Sample Survey Organisation (NSSO) carries out socio-economic surveys, undertakes field work for the Annual Survey of Industries and follow-up surveys of Economic Census, sample checks on area enumeration and crop estimation surveys and prepares the urban frames useful in drawing of urban samples, besides collection of price data from rural and urban sectors. The NSSO has four divisions, namely, Survey Design and Research Division (SDRD), Field Operations Division (FOD), Data Processing Division (DPD) and Coordination & Publication Division (CPD).
Also, several reports are prepared and published at international level which analyse and compare India's performance with other world economies. The major ones are:-
- World Bank's annual World Development Report (WDR) is an invaluable guide to the economic, social and environmental state of the world today. Each year, they provide in depth analysis of a specific aspect of development. These reports have covered such topics like the role of the state, transition economies, labour, infrastructure, health, environment and poverty.
- Human Development Report (HDR) was first launched in 1990 with the single goal of putting people back at the center of the development process in terms of economic debate, policy and advocacy. It is an independent report commissioned by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). The report is translated into more than a dozen languages and launched in more than 100 countries annually.
A similar attempt has been made by the Indian Government to map the state of human development in India through its National Human Development Report 2001 . India also has the distinction of publishing the first sub-national State Human Development Report (SHDR) for the state of Madhya Pradesh in 1995 called as Madhya Pradesh Human Development Reports.
Sixteen other States have launched their SHDRs:-
- World Health Report, first published in 1995, is the World Health Organisation's (WHO's) leading publication. Each year, the report combines an expert assessment of global health, including statistics relating to all countries, with a focus on a specific subject. The main purpose of the report is to provide countries, donor agencies, international organizations and others with the information they need to help them make policy and funding decisions.
- World Investment Report (WIR) is one of the main publications of United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) . It has been published annually since 1991. Every issue of the report has:- analysis of the trends in foreign direct investment (FDI) during the previous year, with especial emphasis on the development implications; ranking of the largest transnational corporations in the world; in-depth analysis of a selected topic related to FDI; policy analysis and recommendations; statistical annex with data on FDI flows and stocks for world economies.
|
