Modernizing India’s Statistical Architecture: Launch Of NHIS And ASISSE To Enhance Data Precision
SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth | SDG 9: Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure | SDG 17: Partnerships for the Goals
Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) | National Sample Survey Office (NSSO) | NITI Aayog
The Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) has announced a significant modernization of India’s national statistical framework with the launch of two new large-scale surveys: the National Household Income Survey (NHIS) and the Annual Survey of Incorporated Service Sector Enterprises (ASISSE). These initiatives are designed to address critical data gaps in household economic behavior and the rapidly evolving services landscape, providing a more granular and real-time understanding of India’s GDP growth and income distribution.
Bridging the Household Income Information Gap The National Household Income Survey (NHIS) marks a historic shift from measuring only consumption expenditure to capturing comprehensive household income data across various sources:
Income Dynamics: For the first time, MoSPI will systematically track income from regular wages, self-employment, and casual labor, alongside secondary sources like remittances and social security transfers.
Saving and Investment Patterns: The survey will provide insights into how Indian households allocate their surplus, facilitating a better understanding of the transition from physical assets to financialized savings.
Inequality Assessment: By collecting income data at the household level, the NHIS will enable policymakers to calculate more accurate Gini coefficients and design targeted poverty alleviation programs based on actual earning capacities rather than just spending habits.
Capturing the Service Sector’s Formal Evolution Complementing the NHIS, the Annual Survey of Incorporated Service Sector Enterprises (ASISSE) focuses on the backbone of India’s modern economy:
Formal Services Monitoring: The ASISSE will provide annual, high-quality data on the performance of registered service sector firms, including IT, finance, logistics, and professional services.
Value Addition Metrics: By tracking Gross Value Added (GVA), employment figures, and capital investment within these enterprises, MoSPI can more accurately measure the service sector’s contribution to the national accounts.
Digital Transformation: The survey will also assess the adoption of digital tools and AI within these firms, offering a data-backed view of how technology is driving productivity gains in the formal services ecosystem.
How do the NHIS and ASISSE improve the accuracy of India’s GDP calculations? The NHIS and ASISSE improve GDP accuracy by replacing dated proxy measures with actual, primary data. By capturing comprehensive household income (NHIS) and the performance of formal service firms (ASISSE), MoSPI can more accurately estimate the “Personal Income” and “Service Sector GVA” components of the national accounts. This reduces reliance on indirect consumption data and ensures that the informal-to-formal transition of the Indian economy is reflected in official growth figures.
Policy Relevance
The launch of NHIS and ASISSE signifies India’s transition to a data-driven governance model where policy is informed by actual income trajectories rather than projected consumption.
Fiscal Targeting: Accurate income data allows the government to refine subsidy targeting and tax compliance strategies, ensuring that social safety nets reach those with the lowest actual earnings.
Monetary Policy Precision: High-frequency data on household savings and service sector investment provides the RBI with better tools to manage inflation and credit flow.
Viksit Bharat Roadmap: These surveys provide the baseline data necessary to track India’s progress toward becoming a high-income economy by 2047, identifying which sectors and regions are leading the growth charge.
Relevant Question for Policy Stakeholders: How can MoSPI integrate the NHIS and ASISSE datasets into a real-time “National Data Dashboard” to allow for more agile, mid-quarter policy corrections at the district level?
Follow the full news here: A Leap Toward High-Frequency Economic Monitoring