The Hindu Business Line : States urged to compile rural economic data

THOUGH a good number of States across the country have been compiling statistics for the gross state domestic product (GSDP) in the urban areas, most of them have failed to bring together statistics of rural areas.

The vital statistics of GSDP in the rural areas would enable policymakers to formulate effective strategies, Dr R.C. Panda, Additional Secretary in the Union Ministry of Statistics & Programme Implementation, has said.

He was speaking to newspersons on the sidelines of the `Southern States Regional Workshop on State Income and Related Aggregates' organised by the State Directorate of Economics and Statistics in association with the Central Statistical Organisation (CSO) here today.

Dr Panda asked all State Governments to initiate steps towards preparation of Panchayat Raj yearbook with statistical data on the lines of the municipalities. According to him, such records would help identify the strengths and weaknesses of the panchayats and enable the policymakers to plan effectively for their development.

Dr Panda asked all the States in general and the southern States in particular to explore options to tap the merging opportunities, especially in the export of agri products, in the backdrop of new economic regime of the World Trade Organisation.

He urged the statistical officers to prepare and maintain regular records on commodity prices so that the farmers get better prices for their produce. In this connection, he appreciated Andhra Pradesh for taking the lead in the preparation of quarterly estimates of the GSDP.

The Andhra Pradesh Finance Minister, Mr K. Rosaiah, who inaugurated the workshop, said the estimates of GSDP were being essentially used in the Government policy formulations, resource allocations and academic studies. Notwithstanding several conceptual and methodological problems, the recent improvements made by the CSO for standardising the methodology have added some degree of reliability, he said.

Stating that Andhra Pradesh is the first State in the country to come out with estimates of the GSDP on quarterly basis since 2002-03 as per the guidelines issued by the CSO, the Finance Minister said these estimates were useful to assess the effects of the economic policies such as five year plans.

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