Statistician's lament and relief...`THE FIRST TIME A GOVT PREVENTED DATA RELEASE'
K.M. RAKESH, TT, 02 Jun 2019, Bangalore: The statistician whose departure had confirmed that the Narendra Modi government did suffer from the fear of numbers is relieved that the worst-kept secret in the country is finally out although it tells a grim tale on unemployment.
"This was the first time a government prevented the release of any statistical data. These are essential numbers to understand the economy," P.C. Mohanan told The Telegraph on Saturday.
A day earlier -- well after the elections had been held, the votes counted and new finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman had taken over -- the government had released the job report, which had been ready in December last year. The report confirmed that unemployment had risen to a 45-year high although the government insisted that the new data could not be compared with previous figures.
In January this year, Mohanan had resigned as the acting head of the National Statistical Commission over a reported disagreement with the government over its failure to publish the annual employment data.
The resignations of Mohanan and a colleague had generated controversy, triggering allegations that the government was unwilling to publish the report before the general election because it painted a dismal picture of joblessness. The first Modi government had promised to create two crore jobs each year.
Some of the data, however, were leaked to the media. Mohanan expressed dismay at the leak. "The leak had affected the credibility of the organisation, which does wonderful work," he told this newspaper on Saturday.
Although the Opposition tried to use the leaked data, the job crisis did not influence the election results.
"This was the first time a government prevented the release of any statistical data. These are essential numbers to understand the economy," P.C. Mohanan told The Telegraph on Saturday.
A day earlier -- well after the elections had been held, the votes counted and new finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman had taken over -- the government had released the job report, which had been ready in December last year. The report confirmed that unemployment had risen to a 45-year high although the government insisted that the new data could not be compared with previous figures.
In January this year, Mohanan had resigned as the acting head of the National Statistical Commission over a reported disagreement with the government over its failure to publish the annual employment data.
The resignations of Mohanan and a colleague had generated controversy, triggering allegations that the government was unwilling to publish the report before the general election because it painted a dismal picture of joblessness. The first Modi government had promised to create two crore jobs each year.
Some of the data, however, were leaked to the media. Mohanan expressed dismay at the leak. "The leak had affected the credibility of the organisation, which does wonderful work," he told this newspaper on Saturday.
Although the Opposition tried to use the leaked data, the job crisis did not influence the election results.
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