Media reports had said the unreleased report had been suppressed because it showed that consumer demand declined in 2017-18 for the first time in more than 40 years.

The government has decided not to release the household consumer expenditure survey results of 2017-18 due to data quality issues, it announced on Friday.

Media reports had said the unreleased report had been suppressed because it showed that consumer demand declined in 2017-18 for the first time in more than 40 years. “In view of data quality issues, the Ministry has decided not to release the household consumer expenditure survey results of 2017-18.”

The Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation said in a statement that it is “planning the next consumer expenditure survey in 2021-22 after data quality refinement in the survey process.”

The Ministry said the report that was cited in the media was a draft and should not be considered the final report, a defence it has employed before when unpleasant data has been leaked.

“The Ministry has seen media reports of consumer expenditure survey by NSS (National Sample Survey) stating that index is falling and report is withheld due to adverse findings,” it said. “The Ministry states that there is a rigorous procedure for vetting of data and reports produced through surveys. All such submissions that come to Ministry are draft in nature and cannot be deemed to be final report.”