1. Kumar Abhay, IAAS
Asstt. Accountant General
O/o The Accountant General
(A&E),Punjab.
Role of Statistics in Real Life ,
Business & Good Governance

2. Use of Statistics in Real Life
 At every stage and in every aspect of our
activities
 Statistics used even at the origin stage of human
beings
 Certain Statistics are used to the extent that we
hardly feel that we are using Statistics ( have
become Common Sense)
 It is gaining importance with public desire to haveSaturday, January 31, 20152

3. Use of Statistics in Real Life
cont’d
 General desire to minimise uncertainty in our life ( preference for
Calculated Risk / Certainty )
 Most importantly the Employment Opportunity offered
 In Government Jobs ( ISS , SSS ; One of the optionals at Pre.
as well as Main Exam stage of Civil Services )
 In Public Sector Undertakings & Autonomous Bodies ( Teaching &
Research, R.B.I. , Public Sector Banks , etc.)
 In Private Sector ( all types of companies : Insurance Sector ,
ITES , BPO , Market Research, Pharmaceuticals, etc.)
Saturday, January 31, 20153

4. Use of Statistics in Business
 No Business Enterprise can be run successfully
without using Statistics ( scale & type depend on
nature and volume of business)
 Statistics used in :
 Understanding Consumer Behaviour ( Need
Analysis for any product , even financial products)
Product Designing & Pricing
Product Customisation ( segment specific
products )
Quality Control ( process as well as product
quality control)
Market Research
Seasonality/Cyclic Issues
Saturday, January 31, 20154

5. Use of Statistics in Good
Governance
 Components of Good Governance
Evidence Based Policy Making
Transparency
Participation
Effectiveness
Accountability
Access to information
Coherence & Coordination
Sensitive to : Gender , Equity & Environment
Saturday, January 31, 20155

6. Use of Statistics in Promoting Good
Governance
 Evidence Based Policy Making : Policy based on
reality as represented by Data (Policy Planning)
 Participation : Needs to be informed and
organised
 Effectiveness : Policies & projects linked with
definite quantifiable outcome
 Accountability : To be linked with outcome(
performance linked promotions)
 Access to Information : Desirable information to
be made available at affordable cost
Saturday, January 31, 20156

7. Present Statistical System in
India
 M/o Statistics & Programme Implementation ,
Government of India : Separate ministry in
existence w.e.f. 15.10.1999 ( every other ministry/
department has Statistics Wing )
 State Statistical Bureaus/ Directorate of
Economics & Statistics at State/UT Level
 District Statistical Officer
 All sorts of data are collected and compiled
Saturday, January 31, 20157

8. Statistics & Good Governance
 Requirements for Statistics to be useful as Good
Governance tool
 Quality of Statistics/Data
Institutional mechanism to use Statistics/Data
 Official Statistics are to be used as a Public Good
Saturday, January 31, 20158

9. Quality Measures of Statistics/Data
 Relevance (pragmatic data quality)
 Accuracy & Adequacy ( based on Risk involved
& Importance)
 Timeliness
 Accessibility
 Comparability
 Coherence
Saturday, January 31, 20159

10. Recent Developments
 National Statistical Commission
 Subscription to IMF’s Special Data Dissemination
Standards
 Advance Release Calendar for important indicators
(MoSPI)
 The India Statistical Strengthening Project ( focus on
SSBs/DESs )
 National Strategic Statistical Plan (SWOT type
analysis)
Saturday, January 31, 201510

11. Result Framework Document
 A system for monitoring and evaluating the
performance of Govt. Departments and Ministries
( from 2009-10)
 Basic Components of RFD:
 What are Departments basic objectives?
 What actions are proposed to achieve these
objectives during the year? And
 How would we know at the end of the year the
degree of progress made in implementing these
actions i.e. what is the relevant success indicators?
Saturday, January 31, 201511

12. Result Framework Document cont’d
As per this system, at the beginning of each
financial year, all Ministries / Departments are
required to prepare a RFD consisting of the
priorities set out by the Ministry concerned,
corresponding success indicators and time
bound targets to measure progress in achieving
these objectives. At the end of year, all Ministries
/ Departments are required to review and prepare
a report listing the achievements of their
Ministries / Departments against the agreed
results for placing before the Cabinet for
information. Saturday, January 31, 201512

13. References:
 MoSPI website ( www.mospi.gov.in).
 C&AG of India website (www.cag.gov.in)
 Inherent and pragmatic data quality measures (
by Jurgens Pieterse )
 Dakar Declaration on the Development of
Statistics
 Statistical Literacy Guide ( House of Commons
Library ,UK)
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