Ex-Stats Chief Rubbishes Govt Claim That NSSO Report Was ‘Draft’

Ex-Stats chief PC Mohanan says govt not releasing NSSO report on jobs was the “last straw,” forcing him to step down

Nearly two weeks after he resigned as acting chairperson of the National Statistical Commission, PC Mohanan has rubbished NITI Aayog claim that the NSSO report that shows joblessness at a 45-year high, was a ‘draft report’. While speaking to NDTV, Mohanan said:

“Once the report is approved by the commission, it is known as the final report. You cannot say it has to be approved by the government. When you use the word ‘approve’, it creates certain questions of credibility. That raises questions of credibility.”

PC Mohanan to NDTV

The former head of India’s Statistics Commission also told NDTV that the commission has been repeatedly sidelined and the government not releasing the NSSO report on jobs was the “last straw”, forcing him to resign

The NSSO report, which claimed unemployment in India under the Modi government had reached 6.1 percent – highest in 45 years, had reportedly been approved by the NSC under Mohnan’s guidance on 5 December 2018.

However, the report was not released and members of the NITI Aayog were later quoted saying that the report was but a ‘mere draft’ and did not include the quarterly data required to publish a "comparable" jobs report. This prompted Mohanan and another member of the NSC, J Meenakshi, to resign.

“In my letter, I made it very clear I have specific instances and we thought our continuing in the commission was not serving any purpose because the commission was not very effective and there’s nothing personal in that. The government should take note of the issues and improve the system. And Meenakshi, who resigned along with me, also said the same thing.”

PC Mohanan to NDTV 

Mohanan recounts that he and Meenakshi met the chief statistician on 23 January to find out the reason for the delay, however, he did not get any official response.

“They also said there's some need to check the data properly but that was not satisfactory for us. And the fact all along has been that the NSSO reports have been released within few days of approval," Mohanan added.

PC Mohanan also laid emphasis upon the importance of the Statistical Commission working autonomously for the sake of credibility.

(With inputs from NDTV)