Under fire over data integrity issues, the government has tasked a panel to revise the wholesale price index (WPI) with the mandate to "enhance the reliability" of official statistics on all inflation measures.  The 31-member panel, to be headed by Planning Commission member Saumitra Chaudhuri, has also been asked to explore the possibility of getting a single agency to collect data for compiling WPI and industrial production that are hitherto dealt...

The National Green Tribunal is the latest to point out that consultants are including “cooked data” in the key environment impact assessment (EIA) reports which determine green clearances for industrial projects. The Tribunal has told the government to come up with a mechanism to ensure authentic data. The Tribunal made its comments last week while suspending the environment clearance given to Scania Steel and Power for the expansion of its sponge...

A Cabinet panel headed by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will decide on Wednesday if the government should spend nearly Rs 15,000 crore more to duplicate an ongoing exercise to capture biometric data. The government had earlier authorised the Registrar General of India under the home ministry to create the National Population Register, a task that required RGI to collect biometric data of nearly one billion people and get them an...

-Live Mint The news that a parliamentary committee has rejected its proposed Bill must come as a jolt to the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI). Reports say that the committee was concerned about duplication with the National Population Register (NPR), the technology, data protection, and the cost. This comes closely on the heels of the home ministry’s contention that UIDAI does not meet the “degree of assurance” required for NPR,...

The suggestion has been made in a note to the cabinet committee on UID project headed by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh The Planning Commission has recommended that the unique identity (UID) programme’s beneficiaries such as public sector banks, insurance companies, state governments and welfare programmes pay for the enrolment of people since the benefits to them will outstrip the costs incurred. The suggestion has been made in a note to the cabinet...