The Central government recently suspended Professor KS James, the director of the International Institute of Population Studies, that works with the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare to conduct important studies such as National Family Health Survey, Global Adult Tobacco Survey among others. The government cited irregularities in recruitment as the reason for suspension, as academics came out in support of him. The opposition parties claim that this suspension reflects the government’s uneasy relationship with data-based evidence. 

In 2019, PC Mohanan from the National Statistical Commission quit saying that one of the reasons was the late release of unemployment data measured under the National Sample Survey Office NSSO. The data that was officially released after the election results showed that joblessness was up to 6.1% in the country then, the highest it had been for 45 years. The government has recently also rejected the data released by the World Health Organisation related to excess deaths during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020-2021. 

Suno India’s Menaka Rao speaks with Dr Aashish Gupta, a demographer and a sociologist. His research looks at the interrelations between health, environment, and inequality in developing countries. He has been published extensively on various subjects including Covid-19 related mortality, life expectancy, open defecation in relation to gender, and caste among other variables. 

References 

'Unhappy With Data Sets,' Modi Govt Suspends Director of Institute Which Prepares NFHS

Scientists, Opposition slam Centre over IIPS Director’s suspension - The Hindu

Was sidelined, govt not releasing job figures, says National Statistics Commission chief PC Mohanan on why he quit - India Today

Unemployment rate at 45-year high, confirms Labour Ministry data - The Hindu

Global Hunger Index attempt to tarnish India’s image: Centre - The Hindu.

Reversing the Gaze - Re-examining Estimates of India's Development Indicators by International Organisations

Shamika Ravi writes: Statisticians can be wrong | The Indian Express

Shamika Ravi is wrong. It is unfair to blame survey methodology when results disagree with a view point | The Indian Express

Why is anaemia being dropped from National Family Health Survey?

Centre defends National Family Health Survey-6 questionnaire, says disability data won’t change fast - The Hindu

Govt initiates moves to set 'Indian' standards for stunting in children | India News

Growth reference charts and the nutritional status of Indian children

(PDF) Are Children in West Bengal Shorter Than Children in Bangladesh?

Delayed NFHS derails health monitoring - The Hindu