Who will approve and release official surveys? Draft NSC Bill stays silent

However, while the Rangarajan commission had recommended making the NSC a 'nodal and empowered body for all core statistical activities of the country',

The proposed law on the National Statistical Commission (NSC) omits a critical element necessary for the autonomy of official statistics: Giving powers to the body to approve and release official survey reports.

The draft NSC Bill, which was made public last week for inviting comments, proposes to give the NSC an “advisory role” in terms of periodic reviews of official statistical systems at various levels. While releasing the draft, the government said it had borrowed ideas from a report by a commission led by former Reserve Bank of India governor 

C Rangarajan, of 2000-01.

However, while the Rangarajan commission had recommended