Administrative data should be treated as “strategic national assets” to enhance evidence-based policy making, improve governance and support India’s vision of becoming a developed nation by 2047, Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister Dr BK Mishra said on Monday.
Speaking as chief guest at the 20th Census Day celebrations, Dr. Mishra congratulated the Ministry of Statistics and Program Implementation (MoSPI) on the release of the Vision 2026-31 document, the progress report on the Sustainable Development Goals, and the first city-level estimates of labor markets and informal enterprises. He also felicitated Professor Arup Bose with the National Sukhatmi Award.
Highlighting Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision for data-driven governance, he said, “This year’s Census Day theme, ‘Unlocking the Potential of Administrative Data’, reflects a transformative step towards strengthening India’s statistical ecosystem and evidence-based policy making,” describing it as of great importance.
Noting India’s pioneering role in statistics, he said the country built one of the best survey-based statistical systems in the world in the 1950s, with the National Sample Survey becoming a globally recognized model. He also paid tribute to renowned statisticians including PC Mahalanobis, CR Rao and PV Sukhatme for their lasting contributions to statistical science.
Over time, he noted, India’s statistical system has faced challenges, including outdated data sets, delays in data dissemination, fragmented structure, and varying data quality. He said these concerns prompted a comprehensive reform exercise led by the Ministry of Social Insurance, which accepted 216 recommendations for implementation within a specific time frame.
Dr. Mishra credited the reforms introduced between 2020 and 2025 to modernizing the statistical ecosystem through new surveys, updating macroeconomic indicators, improved dissemination and procedural changes. He said the Prime Minister’s Office played the role of a catalyst, enabling the Ministry of General Statistics and Planning to strengthen the country’s statistical framework.
He emphasized this year’s theme, saying: “Administrative data should be treated as a strategic national asset, allowing for better program design, targeted service delivery, and timely decision-making.” He called for the creation of interoperable data ecosystems across ministries, states and union territories while ensuring the highest standards of privacy, security and confidentiality.
He said the ministry had modernized surveys through computer-assisted personal interviews (CAPI), provided district-level estimates and high-frequency surveys, and reduced the time it took to publish official statistics. Initiatives such as the National Metadata Structure 2.0, Open APIs, e-Sankhyiki, GoIStats, PAIMANA, and e-SAKSHI are improving accessibility and interoperability.
Looking ahead, Dr. Mishra said: “Administrative data can only become a strong national asset when it is supported by strong standards of quality, privacy and transparency,” adding that while artificial intelligence offers transformative opportunities, its adoption must be supported by governance frameworks that ensure accountability, interpretability and integrity of official statistics.
