The National Sample Survey Office NSSO is an office responsible for conducting large scale sample surveys on an All India basis. The National Sample Survey Office NSSO was integrated with the Central Statistical Office (CSO). The NSSO and CSO now form the National Statistical Office (NSO). The nodal agency for all statistical activities at all-India level is the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation.

Government of India On 23rd May 2019, has approved the merger of NSSO and CSO. As a result the National Sample Survey Office NSSO merged with the Central Statistical Office (CSO) to form the National Statistical Office (NSO).

All functions and responsibilities of NSSO are important for civil services and competitive exams like SSC, State civil services, etc. To understand the working and significance of NSSO in detail, Testbook prepares the best quality notes for civil service aspirants.

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What is the National Sample Survey Office NSSO?

NSSO is an office under the Ministry of Statistic and Program Implementation. The NSSO is led by the Director General. The Director General of NSSO is also the Member-Secretary of the Governing Council. The director general collects data through nation-wide household surveys on various socio-economic subjects, Annual Survey of Industries (ASI), etc. Besides, NSSO also collects data on rural and urban prices. The collected data is used for the improvement of crop statistics. NSSO is responsible for the supervision of the area and crop estimation surveys of the State agencies.

Objectives of National Sample Survey Office NSSO

• To prepare statistical information for planning and policy prescriptions.
• To help in devising statistical techniques which can be used to analyze and interpret data
• To make estimations about future trends.
• To publish information on socio-economic indicators and also demographic parameters.
• To make such analysis available to those engaged in research in socio-economic fields.

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Functions of National Sample Survey Office NSSO

The NSSO functions under the direction of a Governing Council. The Governing Council is an independent institution which has the autonomy in the matter of collection, processing and publication of NSS data.

Following is the composition of the Governing Council: –

• Non- Official chairman
• Five academicians
• Five Data users from departments of Central and State Government
• Senior officers of the Ministry.

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The Basic functions of NSSO are:

• To conduct surveys on socio-economic indicators such as income, health, employment, expenditure, etc.
• To decide the topic of the particular round of the survey.
• To conduct an annual survey of industries on a regular basis.
• To prepare reports on agricultural production in India. These reports are prepared by devising methods for timely estimation of crop yield.
• To coordinate the results obtained by states on crop estimation surveys and compiling them for overall analysis.

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Divisions of the National Sample Survey Office NSSO

There are four divisions of NSSO. They are

• The Survey Design and Research Division (SDRD)
• The Field Operations Division (FOD)
• The Data Processing Division (DPD)
• The Coordination and Publication Division (CPD)

All these divisions have specific functions and they work accordingly.

• The headquarters of the Field Operations Division are at Delhi and Faridabad.
• FOD has a huge network of six Zonal offices, 48 Regional Offices and 117 Sub-Regional offices spread throughout the country.
• The headquarters of the Data Processing Division is at Kolkata. Besides, it has Data Processing Centres at Bangalore, Ahmedabad,Delhi, Giridih, Nagpur and Kolkata.

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National Sample Survey Office NSSO Surveys

The National Sample Survey Office NSSO conducts surveys and collects data on various socio-economic aspects in India. The NSSO conducts nationwide surveys to gather information on many topics. This includes employment, consumption patterns, poverty, health, education, agriculture, and other relevant areas. The collected data is used to analyze and understand the prevailing socio-economic conditions. This helps in policy formulation and decision-making.

The NSSO releases periodic reports based on the surveys conducted. The reports present key findings, trends, and analysis of the collected data. These reports provide valuable insights into the socio-economic indicators and help in understanding the challenges and opportunities in different sectors of the Indian economy.

The NSSO surveys are designed to be representative of the entire population. They use random sampling techniques to ensure statistical accuracy. The collected data is kept confidential and is used for statistical purposes only.

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National Statistical Office (NSO)

The National Statistical Office is a Statistical Wing under the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation. NSO along with CSO and the NSSO works as an integral part of the main ministry. The NSO is led by Secretary Statistics and Programme Implementation. Various divisions of this ministry report to the Secretary through Director Generals (DGs).

What does Merger of CSO and NSSO into NSO indicate?

• The merger of CSO and NSSO is supposed to be a dent on the autonomy of the Indian statistical system. It will also impact the autonomy of NSSO.
• The order implies that NSC’s independent oversight mechanism will no longer be used for statistical analysis.
• The merger of two bodies promotes the access of NSSO for official use by the MoSPI and the NITI Aayog.
• The government agencies such as the NITI Aayog can access the information system with ease.
• The National Statistical Commission (NSC) was proposed by resolution of 2005 along with the National Statistical Organisation (NSO). There is no mention of NSC in the order of merger. This reinforces that the government is undermining the National Statistical Commission(NSC).
• 2019 Order vs 2005 Resolution
  • The 2005 resolution proposed setting up of the National Statistical Commission (NSC) and National Statistical Organisation(NSO).
  • The National Statistical Organisation was said to be an executive wing for statistics. It is expected to act according to the policies and priorities as laid down by the NSC.
  • The 2005 Resolution proposed NSO will work with two wings, CSO and NSSO. On other hand, the 2019 order states that the CSO and NSSO to be merged into NSO.

Responsibilities of NSO

• NSO is a nodal agency in the field of statistics maintaining norms and standards.
• NSO lays down planned development of the statistical system in the country, and focuses on processing of data and dissemination of results.
• NSO ensures integration of the statistical work with State Statistical Bureaus (SSBs) and different Departments of the Government of India.
• NSO provides guidelines on statistical analysis of data and statistical methodology to the Ministries/ Departments of the Government of India.
• NSO distributes the statistical information on various aspects through a number of publications distributed to Government, semi-Government, or private data users/ agencies
• NSO also disseminates data to the United Nations agencies like the UNSD, the ESCAP, the ILO and other international agencies on their request.

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Central Statistics Office (CSO)

The Central Statistics Organisation of India is abbreviated as CSO. CSO is an office coordinating the statistical activities in India. Besides, it is also responsible for evolving and maintaining statistical standards. The headquarter of CSO is located in Delhi.

Composition of CSO

• The CSO is headed by the Director-General.
• The Director-General of CSO is assisted by Five additional Director-Generals and four Deputy Director-Generals, six Joint Directors, seven special task officers, thirty deputy directors, 48 assistant directors, and other supporting staff.
• It has a well-equipped Graphical Unit. Its activities include:

Activities of the CSO

• Development of Statistics in the States and Union Territories for Five Year Plan
• Human Development Statistics
• Gender Statistics
• Imparting training in Official Statistics
• Conduct of Annual Survey of Industries (ASI)
• National Account Statistics (NAS)
• Economic Censuses and its follow up surveys,
• Compilation of Index of Industrial Production and Consumer Price Indices for Urban Non-Manual Employees.
• Broadcasting statistical Information,
• Broadcasting energy, construction, and environment statistics
• Statistics on trade revision of National Industrial Classification

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National Sample Survey Office NSSO Important Highlights for UPSC

In this article, we understand the functioning of the NSSO and the consequences of the merger of CSO and NSSO. Testbook provides a set of comprehensive notes for different competitive exams. Testbook is always on the top of the list because of its best quality assured product like live tests, mocks, Content pages, GK and current affairs videos and much more. To study more topics from Indian Economy for UPSC, download the Testbook App now!

यह भी पढ़ें : राष्ट्रीय नमूना सर्वेक्षण कार्यालय (NSSO)