The Union Cabinet on Wednesday, November 4 sanctioned a Rs 4,371 crore scheme to restructure India's statistical system, Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw told the Cabinet briefing. 'A new scheme of Rs. 4,371 crore has been approved by the Prime Minister, which will basically revamp the entire statistical system of a country,' Vaishnaw said, citing priorities around ground truthing, collection frequency and periodical assessments, ANI reported. The scheme targets improved survey methods, validation processes, university certification courses and reduced collection bias.

Source: ANI via Europe Says

The scheme is VISTAR — the Viksit Bharat Initiative for Statistical Transformation, Analytics and Research — approved for FY 2026-27 to FY 2030-31 with an outlay of Rs 4,371.10 crore, according to the Cabinet press release summarised by The Policy Edge. Its three components cover national data production, state capacity and a new count of non-farm establishments.

Source: The Policy Edge (PIB release)

Rs 4,371.10 croreVISTAR outlay, 2026-27 to 2030-31
59Surveys planned in the 16th Finance Commission cycle, up from 43
8thEconomic Census, down to Gram Panchayat and ward level

On national statistics, the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) proposes 59 surveys during the 16th Finance Commission cycle, compared with 43 major surveys conducted previously, and plans a Headline Index of Services Production and an Index of Unincorporated Sector Enterprises, The Policy Edge reported. VISTAR also supports end-to-end digitalisation, with AI and machine learning used mainly for data processing, validation and analysis, and mobile-phone, retail-scanner and e-commerce data examined as supplements to surveys, not replacements.

Source: The Policy Edge (PIB release)

On state and local data, a redesigned, deliverable-linked Support for Statistical Strengthening programme (SSS 2.0) will fund state and Union Territory statistical capacity, with technical support for district-level and million-plus-city estimates. The eighth Economic Census will collect information on non-farm establishments and their workers down to the Gram Panchayat and ward levels, and its data are intended to underpin a National Statistical Business Register for future enterprise surveys, The Policy Edge reported.

Source: The Policy Edge (PIB release)

What happens next: Cabinet approval establishes the scheme and its funding; the proposed surveys, the two new indices and the Economic Census outputs still have to be delivered by MoSPI and the states over the five-year period.

Source: The Policy Edge (PIB release)