Task force set up to get reliable, timely data on employment

New Delhi, May 9 (IANS) Following Prime Minister Narendra Modi's directions, the government on Tuesday constituted a task force to recommend solutions to the problem of getting reliable, timely data on employment.

A PMO release said the task force, headed by Vice Chairman, NITI Aayog Arvind Panagriya, will recommend solutions which can be implemented in a time-bound manner.

Noting the government attaches the highest priority to job creation, the release said that lack of reliable and timely data had made it difficult for policy makers to assess the extent of employment generation at different points of time.

"India suffers from a lack of reliable, timely data on employment which has made it difficult for policy makers and independent observers to assess the extent of employment generation at different points of time," the release said.

It said some data is collected and published by certain agencies including the Labour Bureau, but the coverage is very small as it covers only a few sectors and the methodology is not based on updated panel of survey respondents.

The net result has been that both policy making and analysis are conducted in a data vacuum, it said.

"In view of the importance of timely and reliable data on employment, the Prime Minister has directed the Prime Minister's Office and concerned ministries to come up with a solution to fill this long standing gap in the country's statistical architecture," the release said.

Other members of the task force are Labour Secretary Sathiyavathy, Statistics Secretary T.C.A. Ananth, Prof. Pulak Ghosh of NITI Aayog and Manish Sabharwal, a member of the Reserve Bank of India as members.