Topic Of The Day:-“Standard Deviations: On Jobs Data”
Delay In Releasing Key Employment Data Has Undermined The Credibility Of Data Officialdom
The resignations of the National Statistical Commission’s acting Chairperson P.C. Mohanan and member J.V. Meenakshi appear linked to the Centre’s refusal to release new data on employment that were due to be made public in December 2018. They could also be related to unease about the recently unveiled back-series data on the economy, which recorded slower growth during the UPA-led government’s rule, and were released by the NITI Aayog bypassing convention and the commission’s views. Reports suggest that the findings of the new Periodic Labour Force Survey, for July 2017-December 2018, are not too flattering, with unemployment registering a five-decade high. The government has said no such reservations were expressed by Mr. Mohanan or Dr. Meenakshi during NSC meetings and that the report will be released after ‘quarterly’ data for the survey period is processed. A key role of the NSC, set up in 2006, is to verify whether data being put in the public domain are reliable and adequate. Information has been collected anddisseminated by successive governments under laid-down schedules, earning Indian data greater global trust than most other emerging market peers, especially China.
On the question of job-creation for the youth, the Prime Minister and his Cabinet have been building an argument that jobs abound, but credible data are missing. The National Sample Survey Organisation’s quinquennial employment surveys were to be conducted in 2016-17. The year was switched to 2017-18 as the new Labour Force Survey was being prepared to replace it. Separately, a quarterly survey of select employment-intensive sectors initiated by the Labour Bureau after the 2008 global financial crisis, that provided some clarity on ground realities, was inexplicablyjunked. Instead, proxy data from enrolments into social security schemes for formal sector employees are being touted as a sign of job-creation: economists have rightly called them out as inaccurate. Even then, Arun Jaitley, in his last year’s Budget speech, cited ‘an independent study’ to claim seven million formal jobs will be created in 2018-19. The Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy has pegged job losses in 2018 at 11 million based on its regular employment surveys. The government’s coy approach to jobs-related data may be due to its disastrous demonetisationgambit which hurt supply chains and informal jobs in the economy and whose effects havelingered. Contrast this with the NSSO surveys of 2009-10 that revealed little good news on household incomes and job-creation, thanks to after-effects of the global financial crisis. The UPA didn’t dither from releasing the data, took criticism on its chin, explained it was anexceptional situation and commissioned another set of surveys in 2011-12 to correct for the timing. The Modi government should have treaded the same path without upending India’s statistical integrity.
MEANINGS AND WORDS
1) unveiled
Meaning : remove a veil or covering from, in particular uncover (a new monument or work of art) as part of a public ceremony.
Synonyms : disclose
Antonyms : conceal
Example : “the Princess unveiled a plaque”
2) convention
Meaning : a way in which something is usually done.
Synonyms : show
Antonyms : discord
Example : “to attract the best patrons the movie houses had to ape the conventions and the standards of theatres”
3) reliable
Meaning : consistently good in quality or performance; able to be trusted.
Synonyms : decent
Antonyms : broken
Example : “a reliable source of information”
4) adequate
Meaning : satisfactory or acceptable in quality or quantity.
Synonyms : acceptable
Antonyms : inadequate
Example : “this office is perfectly adequate for my needs”
5) disseminated
Meaning : having spread throughout an organ or the body.
Synonyms : advertise
Antonyms : conceal
Example : “symptoms vary from mild localized disease to severe disseminated infection”
6) quinquennial
Meaning : recurring every five years.
Synonyms : quintan
Example : “they conducted quinquennial reviews”
7) intensive
Meaning : recurring every five years.
Synonyms : thorough
Antonyms : superficial
Example : “they conducted quinquennial reviews”
8) inexplicably
Meaning : in a way that cannot be explained or accounted for.
Synonyms : peculiarly
Antonyms : actually
Example : “many crucial documents had inexplicably disappeared”
9) junked
Meaning : discard or abandon unceremoniously.
Synonyms : damaged
Antonyms : cherished
Example : “sort out what could be sold off and junk the rest”
10) touted
Meaning : attempt to sell (something), typically by a direct or persistent approach.
Synonyms : proclaim
Antonyms : blame
Example : “Sanjay was touting his wares”
11) claim
Meaning : state or assert that something is the case, typically without providing evidence or proof.
Synonyms : assertion
Antonyms : answer
Example : “the Prime Minister claimed that he was concerned about Third World debt”
12) pegged
Meaning : (of a garment) wide at the top and narrow at the bottom.
Synonyms : fasten
Antonyms : detach
Example : “pegtop trousers”
13) gambit
Meaning : an act or remark that is calculated to gain an advantage, especially at the outset of a situation.
Synonyms : artifice
Antonyms : frankness
Example : “his resignation was a tactical gambit”
14) lingered
Meaning : stay in a place longer than necessary because of a reluctance to leave.
Synonyms : dawdle
Antonyms : forward
Example : “she lingered in the yard, enjoying the warm sunshine”
15) revealed
Meaning : make (previously unknown or secret information) known to others.
Synonyms : concede
Antonyms : conceal
Example : “Brenda was forced to reveal Robbie’s whereabouts”
16) dither
Meaning : be indecisive.
Synonyms : agitation
Antonyms : calm
Example : “I can’t bear people who dither”
17) integrity
Meaning : the quality of being honest and having strong moral principles.
Synonyms : honesty
Antonyms : deceit
Example : “a gentleman of complete integrity”
18) exceptional
Meaning : unusual; not typical.
Synonyms : notable
Antonyms : common
Example : “late claims will only be accepted in exceptional circumstances”
19) criticism
Meaning : the expression of disapproval of someone or something on the basis of perceived faults or mistakes.
Synonyms : review
Antonyms : neglect
Example : “he received a lot of criticism”
20) disregard
Meaning : pay no attention to; ignore.
Synonyms : contempt
Antonyms : admiration
Example : “the body of evidence is too substantial to disregard”
21) violating
Meaning : break or fail to comply with (a rule or formal agreement).
Synonyms : breach
Antonyms : assist
Example : “they violated the terms of a ceasefire”
