Modi govt pushes for Central control of data collection in Kashmir

Aim of Collection of Statistics Bill remains unclear as Kashmir is already part of various surveys

The Collection of Statistics (Amendment) Bill 2017 introduced by ‎Minister of Statistics and Programme Implementation D V Sadananda Gowda in Lok Sabha on March 20, 2017 seeks to empower the Centre to collect data from Jammu & Kashmir by superceding a state law that has been in force since 1961. At present, data is collected on Kashmir and its residents under the Jammu and Kashmir Collection of Statistics Act, 2010.

The bill has been introduced despite the fact that the Centre already has the all-important Census data on Kashmir. In addition, various other surveys by the National Sample Survey (NSS), National