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Congress slams government

शेखचिल्ली के लतीफ़ों के बारे में ख़ास बात ये थी कि डींगें बड़ी-बड़ी होती थीं, लेकिन असल काम में सब चौपट। भाजपा सर… https://t.co/DSfOmhmg6B — Priyanka Gandhi Vadra (@priyankagandhi) 1573816989000

NEW DELHI: The government on Friday said that it would not release the Consumer Expenditure Survey results of 2017-18 because of "data quality issues".The Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation junked a media report citing a fall in consumption expenditure for the first time in more than four decades, saying that the ministry follows a rigorous "data vetting" process before releasing such reports."All such submissions which come to the Ministry are draft in nature and cannot be deemed to be the final report," it said in a statement released late on Friday evening.Govt making history by driving people into poverty: PriyankaThe release said that results of the survey were examined and it was noted that there was a significant increase in the divergence in not only the levels in the consumption pattern but also the direction of the change when compared to the other administrative data sources like the actual production of goods and services."Concerns were also raised about the ability/sensitivity of the survey instrument to capture consumption of social services by households especially on health and education," it said.The National Satistical Office has referred the matter to a committee of experts which noted the discrepancies and came out with several recommendations including refinement in the survey methodology and improving the data quality aspects on a concurrent basis."The recommendations of the committee are being examined for implementation in future surveys," the release said.The NSS Consumer Expenditure Survey generates estimates of household monthly per capita consumer expenditure (MPCE) and the distribution of households and persons over the MPCE classes.It said the Ministry is separately examining the feasibility of conducting the next Consumer Expenditure Survey in 2020-2021 and 2021-22 after incorporating all data quality refinements in the survey process.The Consumer Expenditure Survey (CES) is usually conducted at quinquennial intervals and the last survey on consumer expenditure was conducted in the 68th round (July 2011 to June 2012).It is designed to collect information regarding expenditure on the consumption of goods and services (food and non-food) consumed by households. The results, after release, are also used for rebasing of the GDP and other macro-economic indicators.Senior Congress leader Jairam Naresh lashed out at the government for not releasing the report.Congress spokesperson Pawan Khera said at a press conference here that leaked report shows that the person who spent Rs 1501 in a month in 2011-12 was spending Rs 1446 in 2017-18.He said the fall in spending was 8.8 per cent in rural India. "This is a serious issue. Rural India was spending Rs 643 in a month in 2011-12, it is spending Rs 580 in 2017-18," he alleged.Khera said that a committee of statistics department had cleared the data to be released in June this year but the "government did not allow it".Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra also targeted the government on the issue.Priyanka Gandhi alleged in tweets that consumer spending has collapsed."Successive govts have striven tirelessly to combat poverty and empower the people. This govt is making history by driving people into poverty: while rural India faces the dire consequences of their policies, the BJP ensures that their corporate friends become richer by the day. Usually, governments work towards eradicating poverty, not towards eliminating data," she said.Earlier today, Rahul Gandhi had tweeted — "Modinomics stinks so bad, the government has to hide its own reports."