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The Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation came into existence in the late 90s and takes care of the statistical data collection and implementation of different programs by the government. This ministry became independent after the Ministry of Statistics and the Ministry of Programme Implementation were merged. There are two wings in this ministry, one of which is called the National Statistical Office (NSO). The NSO consists of the central statistical office and the NSSO (National Sample Survey Office). The NSSO has four divisions, i.e., Survey Design and Research (SDR), Field Operation Division (FOD), Data Process, and Economic Analysis. In this article, we will learn about these four divisions of the NSSO.
NSSO
The NSSO is an organisation set up to carry out different big-scale sample surveys on diverse subjects such as agricultural, demographic, and socio-economic topics. The data collected from these surveys is further used in the planning and implementing programs developed by the government for the proper development in the necessary fields.
These surveys also play a significant role in nation-building. There are mainly four types of surveys that the NSSO conducts: household surveys, enterprise surveys, village facilities, and land and livestock holdings. These surveys are well-defined over a cycle of ten years.
Objectives of the NSSO
- To provide the state and central governments with the data required for the proper development programs and government policies.
- The socio-economic surveys help in the economic activities across the country.
- The collected statistical data is used for different research and development purposes.
Functions of the NSSO
- They conduct surveys across the country on subjects like employment, household expenditure, medical topics, etc.
- In agriculture, NSSO helps the states by improving pre-existing techniques and developing new survey techniques to collect reliable and on-time yield estimates.
- They also carry the duty of maintaining reports on the annual agricultural production across the country and maintaining proper coordinated results of the yield estimates conducted by all the states.
The Different Divisions of NSSO
Survey Design and Research (SRD)
This division of the NSSO helps design almost all the surveys and formulates the sample design. To be more precise, this division schedules the surveys and draws a layout of how the surveys need to be executed. It also formulates a set of instructions for the field staff that needs to be followed whilst conducting this survey. Out of the four divisions, we can say that this division supervises the work as it formulates various concepts and definitions.
The SRD is also responsible for preparing tabulation and validation programs, tabulating the final result of the surveys conducted, and providing the ministry with the outcome of collected data. The division also is relied on for suggestions and ideas regarding improving the efficiency of the sample surveys conducted. The office of SRD is located in Kolkata.
Field Operation Department
The Field Operation Department probably does the essential part of the work- data collection. As the name suggests, this division does all fieldwork, conducts surveys, and forwards the data to the concerned division. This division follows the schedules prepared by the SRD. The FOD has its headquarters in New Delhi and its agricultural wing in Faridabad. It also has six zonal offices and 116 sub zonal offices all across the country, thus making it easier and more efficient to collect reliable data.
The FOD is responsible for collecting data for annual surveys of industries, social and economic surveys, household expenditure surveys, and employment and unemployment surveys across the country. The FOD is also responsible for bringing up-to-date data from various crop cutting experiments and suggesting the state on various techniques to improve the stats of crop yield. With the widespread offices across the country, this division ensures the proper obtaining of authentic data from the grassroots level.
Data Processing
This division processes the data collected by the FOD and creates a sample list for social-economical surveys and the sample selection for the same. They also prepare multiplier details and check for multiple details. They, in short, do the proofreading of the data collected.
They validate and tabulate the data collected by the FOD, create software for the NSSO and suggest the states of the data management.
Economic Analysis
This division gathers the data via socio-economic surveys and accordingly helps forecast the state’s economy, thus contributing to the data on the country’s economy. It is also responsible for analysing the data on revenue, population, and so on and helping the government bring up new policies.
Conclusion
This article shows us how the NSSO works with the help of its four divisions, collects data and renders it to make an end product of the survey. This data aids the various government departments in policy building and implementation. These operations play a significant role as they help the ministry and the government know about the areas that need immediate attention and economic status from the grassroots level. The field department also looks at the reality close enough to suggest valuable ideas to the authorities. The economic analysis forecasts and prevents the states and the centre from falling into a financial crisis. They also keep a check on the population, vaccination and various other aspects that need close monitoring and analysis.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Ireland on September 23, 2015. It was the second time an Indian Prime Minister had visited Ireland. The first being Jawaharlal Nehru’s visit in 1956. Ireland is an island nation located in Northwestern Europe and surrounded by the North Atlantic Ocean.
The Prime Minister of Ireland, Enda Kenny, had hosted PM Modi during his visit. The PM was attended by other dignitaries such as the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Charles Flanagan, and Ireland’s Ambassador to India, Feilim McLaughlin. The main aim of the visit was to create stronger ties and improve trade and cultural relations. Described below is the impact of the PM’s Ireland visit.
Impact on trade and commerce
India and Ireland have strong bilateral trade and business relations. Before the PM’s visit, trades with Ireland were valued at €650 million in business in 2014. This included exports worth €248m and imports worth €402 million.
The indigenous exports increased from €32 million in 2012 to €55 million in 2014. In 2019, the total bilateral trade was around €1.2 billion. The exports and the imports have also increased to €636 million and €480 million respectively. Currently, the total trade between India and Ireland is valued at €4.2 billion. This resulted from improved bilateral ties between the two nations, owing to Prime Minister Modi’s visit to Ireland.
Indian Companies in Ireland
Many Indian companies carry out trade and commerce in Ireland. They provide services to Irish markets and consumers across various industries. Pharmaceutical giants such as Reliance Genemedix and Amneal Pharmaceuticals operate in Ireland. Major IT companies such as Wipro, Infosys, TCS, and HCL also have a strong presence in the country. The trade relations were bolstered after Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Ireland.
Other companies like Crompton Greaves, Deepak Fasteners, Jain irrigation systems, and Shapoorji Pallonji provide consumer goods and services. Likewise, many Irish companies conduct their business in the Indian market. These companies include pharmaceutical and nutrition players like ICON and Glanbia, IT firms like Globoforce and other companies like Keventer, CRH Taxback Group, and Connolly Red Mills.
Impact on Education
Ireland has been a coveted destination for higher education for Indian students. Over 5000 Indian students have enrolled for higher studies in various institutions in Ireland. The students are admitted to engineering, technology, medicine and management colleges. More than 30 research agreements have been signed between the two nations that allow institutes in both countries to collaborate.
Many reputed institutes like Trinity College, Dublin, and Thapar University, Patiala, have signed MOUs for engineering and science disciplines programmes. Thus, Ireland is an essential collaborator in graduate and doctoral research. This collaboration is also considered an impact of the PM’s Ireland visit.
Indian Community in Ireland
Ireland is diplomatically significant for India also due to the large number of Indian citizens residing there. The Indian origin population is approximately 45,000 people, of whom 18,500 are Non-Resident Indians (NRI), and others are Persons of Indian Origin (PIO). The majority of the residents are working professionals employed in engineering, healthcare and management positions.
It has helped in establishing many policies for the Indian origin population. Two such policies in practice are wearing hijab as a part of the police uniform and the non-requirement of obtaining an additional work permit for the spouse or the partner of Critical Skill Employment Permit holders.
Cultural Impact
As a result of a large population of Indian origin citizens in Ireland and the relationship between the two nations, Ireland promotes Indian culture in various forms. One such example is the celebration of Diwali in Ireland since 2008. The event is organised every year in collaboration with Irish and Indian committees.
Further, an annual contemporary film festival is also a part of the celebration of Indian culture. The promotion of such events indicates the importance of cultural exchange between the two nations. The Irish communities also take a keen interest in conventional practices such as cultivating and consuming Indian herbs and spices. This connects the agricultural practices between the two nations. The cultural ties between the countries were strong, and Prime Minister Modi’s visit to Ireland helped strengthen them further.
Another significant practice is the celebration of International Yoga Day in Ireland. The Irish communities have accepted Yoga as a form of a healthy lifestyle. The practice is similar to the Indian tradition.
Tourism
India attracts around 44,000 Irish tourists every year. Indian tourists too visit Ireland in similar numbers. This was facilitated by the introduction of the common British-Irish visa scheme. This scheme allows the tourists to visit the U.K. and Ireland under one visa, rather than applying for two separate visas. It is valid for short stays. India also extended its Electronic Tourist Visa facility to Ireland to digitally facilitate visa approval and generation. The impact of the PM’s Ireland visit was such that it has also helped establish the tourism sector in both countries.
Conclusion
The diplomatic ties between Ireland and India have been impacted positively after Prime Minister Modi visited Ireland in 2015. It was an essential step toward strengthening the bilateral relationship between these two nations. India and Ireland have been important to each other since the 1900s.
In 2010 and 2017, two honorary consulates were established in Chennai and Kolkata. Later in 2019, a formal and fully functional consulate general in Mumbai. Ireland and India have also shown their allegiance to fighting terrorism after the Pulwama attack. India has also hosted several Irish dignitaries on various occasions. These visits were directed toward engagement in business, education, health and tourism.
Further, many agreements were signed to provide opportunities for employment to people of both countries. Prime Minister Modi’s visit to Ireland helped revive relatively stagnant relations between these two nations. Several cultural and historically similar instances bind these two nations. From Yeats and Tagore to cricket and Diwali, the cultural semblance between these two nations has helped create a strong tie between them.
