Collection of Statistics Act, 2008

For collection of statistics on economic, demographic, social, scientific and environmental aspects in India.

Collection of Statistics Act, 2008

[Act 7 of 2009]      [7th January, 2009]

An Act to facilitate the collection of statistics on economic, demographic, social, scientific and environmental aspects, and for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto

Be it enacted by Parliament in the Fifty-ninth Year of the Republic of India as follows:—

Statement of Objects And Reasons.—The Collection of Statistics Act, 1953 (the Statistics Act) was enacted to facilitate the collection of statistics of certain kinds relating to industries, trade and commerce. Its provisions have been used in conducting the Annual Survey of Industries. The State Governments have also used the said Act to collect data in areas not covered by the Central Government. Briefly, the above said Act has as so far been used for the purpose of collecting information from a limited segment of the industrial sector.

Other Contents of Collection of Statistics Act, 2008
Sections 1 to 14 Sections 15 to 34

2. During the years, it is felt that the provisions of the Statistics Act are not adequate to meet the new challenges arising out of liberalization and globalization regime manifested by the WTO Agreement. The need for statistical information for planning and policy formulation has been expanded over the years due to market driven economy in various sectors necessitating a re-look at the Statistics Act.

3. All those issues were studied by the National Statistical Commission appointed by the Central Government. The Commission recommended that the Statistics Act needs to be amended as it covers only a part of the whole industrial sector, leaving out many survey programmes in the Government set-up wherein information is being collected presently on purely voluntary basis from households, enterprises, companies, public and private institutions, etc. It recommended that necessary legal provisions should be made either by expanding the scope of the Statistics Act or by passing a new Act.

4. In view of above, it is proposed to introduce the Collection of Statistics Bill, 2007 which is basically intended to enhance the scope of collection of statistics and to repeal the Collection of Statistics Act, 1953.

5. Some of the salient features of the Bill are as follows:—

(i) the scope has been enhanced to collect all kinds of statistics not only from industria1/commercial concerns but also from individuals and households; and the local governments such as Panchayats and Municipalities are also empowered to collect statistics under the Bill;

(ii) under this Bill, any Government Department/Organisation, either in the States or at the Centre or in the local government, may appoint a statistics officer for each subject of data collection and, or for each geographical unit;

(iii) necessary provisions have also been made in the Bill for ensuring support to any statistics officer appointed by the appropriate Government, in terms of providing necessary inputs, manpower, etc.;

(iv) the Central Government is empowered to make rules for avoiding duplication and for maintaining technical standards in data collection in respect of ‘core statistics’, which are important for the country for the purpose of ensuring methodological standards, timeliness, credibility and completeness;

(v) all methods of data collection including oral interviews and filing of returns in electronic form have also been covered;

(vi) elaborate provisions have been made to ensure that the information collected under the Bill, shall not be used for any purpose other than for statistical purposes; and

(vii) the penalties for offences, such as refusal to furnish information, have been rationalized and the offences have been proposed to be tried in a summary way to avoid prolonged litigation.

6. The Bill seeks to achieve the aforesaid objectives.

Chapter I

PRELIMINARY

1. Short title, extent and commencement.

1. Short title, extent and commencement.—(1) This Act may be called the Collection of Statistics Act, 2008.

[i][(2) It extends to the whole of India:

Provided that it shall apply to the State of Jammu and Kashmir insofar as it relates to statistics pertaining to matters falling under any of the entries specified in List I (Union List) or List III (Concurrent List) in the Seventh Schedule to the Constitution as applicable to that State.]

(3) It shall come into force on such date[ii] as the Central Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, appoint.

2. Definitions.

2. Definitions.—In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires,—

(a) “agency” includes a person or persons engaged by the appropriate Government, directly or by outsourcing, for collection of statistics;

(b) “appropriate Government” means—

(i) any Ministry or Department in the Central Government; or

(ii) any Ministry or Department in a State Government or Union Territory Administration; or

(iii) any local government that is to say, Panchayats or Municipalities, as the case may be,

in relation to the collection of statistics under a direction issued by it under Section 3;

(c) “informant” means any person, who supplies or is required to supply statistical information and includes a owner or occupier or person in-charge or his authorised representative in respect of persons or a firm registered under the Indian Partnership Act, 1932 (9 of 1932) or a co-operative society registered under any Co-operative Societies Act or a company registered under the Companies Act, 1956 (1 of 1956) or a society registered under the Societies Registration Act, 1860 (21 of 1860) or any association recognised or registered under any law for the time being in force;

(d) “information schedule” means any book, document, form, card, tape, disc or any storage media on which information required is entered or recorded or is required to be entered or recorded for statistical purposes under this Act;

[iii][(da) “nodal officer” means the officer designated as a nodal officer under sub-section (1) of Section 3-A;]

(e) “prescribed” means prescribed by rules made under this Act;

(f) “sampling” means a statistical procedure by which information relating to a particular field of inquiry is derived by applying statistical techniques to information obtained in respect of a proportion of the total number of persons or units concerned relevant to the field of inquiry;

(g) “statistical survey” means a census or a survey, whereby information is collected from all the informants in the field of inquiry or from a sample thereof, by an appropriate Government under this Act or any other relevant Act, wholly or primarily for the purposes of processing and summarising by appropriate statistical procedures;

(h) “statistics” means statistics derived by collecting, classifying and using statistics, specially in or for large quantities or numbers by appropriate Government from statistical surveys, administrative and registration records, and other forms and papers, the statistical analysis of which are, whether in a published or unpublished form;

(i) “statistics officer” means any officer appointed under Section 4 for the purposes of any direction issued under Section 3 of this Act.

Chapter II

COLLECTION OF STATISTICS

3. Collection of statistics.

3. Collection of statistics.—The appropriate Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, direct that the statistics on economic, demographic, social, scientific and environmental aspects shall be collected through a statistical survey or otherwise, and thereupon the provisions of this Act shall apply in relation to those statistics:

Provided that—

(a) nothing contained in this section shall be deemed to authorise a State Government or Union territory Administration or any local government to issue any direction with respect to the collection of statistics relating to any matter falling under any of the entries specified in List I (Union List) in the Seventh Schedule to the Constitution; or

(b) where the Central Government has issued any direction under this section for the collection of statistics relating to any matter, no State Government or Union territory Administration or any local government shall, except with the previous approval of the Central Government, issue any similar direction for so long as the collection of such statistics by the Central Government remain to be completed; or

(c) where a State Government or Union territory Administration or any local government has issued a direction under this section for the collection of statistics relating to any matter, the Central Government shall not issue any similar direction for so long as the collection of such statistics by the State Government remain to be completed, except in cases where such statistics have to be collected with reference to two or more States or Union territories.

3-A. Nodal officer.

[iv][3-A. Nodal officer.—(1) The Central Government or a State Government or Union Territory Administration shall designate one of its officers as a nodal officer for the purposes of statistics under this Act.

(2) The nodal officer shall coordinate and supervise such statistical activities in the Central Government or the State Government or Union territory Administration, as the case may be, in which he is designated, and shall exercise such other powers and perform such other duties, as may be prescribed.]

4. Powers of appropriate Government to appoint statistics officer, etc.

4. Powers of appropriate Government to appoint statistics officer, etc.—(1) The appropriate Government may appoint or cause to appoint an officer to be the statistics officer for any geographical unit for the purpose of collecting any statistics directed by it.

(2) The appropriate Government may appoint any agency or persons working in such agencies to take, or aid in, or supervise the collection of the statistics within any specified geographical unit and such agencies or persons, when so appointed, shall be bound to serve accordingly.

(3) The appropriate Government may employ on contract basis any agency or company or organisation or association or person, on such terms and conditions and on such safeguards as may be prescribed, for the purpose of collecting the statistics directed by it.

(4) The appropriate Government may delegate to any statistics officer, as it thinks fit, the power of appointing agencies or persons working in such agencies or employing on contract basis any agency or company or organisation or association of persons, conferred on it by sub-sections (2) and (3) within the geographical unit for which such statistics officer is appointed.

(5) The appropriate Government may, by order specify the form, the particulars required or the interval within which, and the statistics officer to whom, the statistical information by the informants shall be furnished.

(6) The appropriate Government may, by order published in the Official Gazette, delegate to any statistics officer, as it thinks fit, any power conferred under sub-section (5) for the purpose of the collection of statistics under a direction issued by it under Section 3.

5. Power of statistics officer to call for information.

5. Power of statistics officer to call for information.—The statistics officer may, for the purpose of collection of statistics on any specified subject in any geographical unit for which the said officer was appointed—

(a) serve or cause to be served on any informant a notice in writing asking him to furnish the information specified under sub-section (5) of Section 4 or cause a information schedule to be given to any informant for the purpose of its being filled up; or

(b) cause all questions relating to the subject to be asked from any informant; or

(c) seek information through tele fax or telephone or e-mail or in any other electronic mode or in a combination of different modes for different sets of information so specified.

6. Duty of informants.

6. Duty of informants.—The informants who are asked to furnish any information under the provisions of this Act shall be bound to furnish the information so asked in the prescribed manner to the best of knowledge or belief; and in cases where only a portion of a particular class or group of persons or units is asked to furnish information because of any sampling procedure, it shall not be a defence in failure on the part of any informant to furnish that information, if so asked.

7. All agencies to assist.

7. All agencies to assist.—Every agency shall render such help and assistance and furnish such information to the statistics officer or a person or an agency authorised by him in writing, as he may require for the discharge of his functions, and shall make available for inspection and examination of such records, plans and other documents, as may be necessary.

8. Right of access to records or documents.

8. Right of access to records or documents.—The statistics officer or any person authorised by him in writing in this behalf shall, for the purposes of collection of any statistics under this Act, have access to any relevant record or document in the possession of any informant required to furnish any information under this Act, and may enter at any reasonable time any premises where he believes such record or document is kept and may inspect or take copies of relevant records or documents or ask any question necessary for obtaining any information required to be furnished under this Act.

Chapter III

DISCLOSURE OF INFORMATION IN CERTAIN CASES AND RESTRICTIONS OF THEIR USE

9. Security of information.

9. Security of information.—[v][(1) The statistics officer or any person or agencies authorised under this Act shall, for statistical purposes, use any information furnished under Section 6 in such manner as may be prescribed.]

(2) No person other than a person engaged in the work of collection of statistics under this Act or preparation of statistics resultant to such collection shall be permitted to see any information schedule or any answer to a question asked, except for the purposes of a prosecution under this Act.

(3) No information contained in any information schedule and no answer to any question asked shall, except for the purposes of a prosecution under this Act, be separately published, or disclosed without suppressing the identification of informants to any agency.

(4) All statistical information published by any agency shall be arranged in such a manner so as to prevent any particulars becoming identifiable by any person (other than the informant by whom those particulars were supplied) as the particulars relating to the informant who supplied it, even through the process of elimination, unless—

(a) that informant has consented to their publication in that manner; or

(b) their publication in that manner could not reasonably have been foreseen by the concerned agency or any employee thereof.

(5) For the purposes of sub-section (4), the Central Government may make such rules or make such arrangement, as it may consider necessary.

10. Appropriate Government authorised to disclose certain information.

10. Appropriate Government authorised to disclose certain information.—Notwithstanding the provisions contained in Section 9 of this Act, the appropriate Government may disclose the following information, namely:—

(a) information supplied by informant in respect of which disclosure is consented to in writing by the informant or by any person authorised by the said informant;

(b) information otherwise available to the public under any Act or as a public document;

(c) information in the form of an index or list of the names and addresses of informants together with the classification, if any, allotted to them and the number of persons engaged.

11. Disclosure of information schedules for bona fide research or statistical purposes.

11. Disclosure of information schedules for bona fide research or statistical purposes.—(1) Notwithstanding the provisions contained in Section 9 of this Act, the appropriate Government may disclose individual returns or formats or information schedules to other agency or person or institutions or universities solely for bona fide research or statistical purposes pursuant to their functions and duties.

(2) No individual return or information schedule shall be disclosed pursuant to this section unless—

(a) the name and address of the informant by whom the schedule or related information was supplied is deleted;

(b) every agency or person or institutions or Universities involved in the research or statistical project makes a declaration to use the schedules disclosed to them only for bona fide research or statistical purposes; and

(c) the appropriate Government, making such disclosure is satisfied that the security of the schedules and any information contained therein shall not be impaired.

(3) The published results of any research or statistical project shall not divulge any more information than what the agency authorised for collection of statistics could publish under this Act.

(4) Every agency or person or institutions or universities to whom any individual return or information schedule is disclosed under this section shall comply with directions given by the agency authorised for collection of statistics making the disclosure relating to the schedules and any information contained therein.

12. Disclosure of historical documents.

12. Disclosure of historical documents.—Notwithstanding anything contained in Section 9 of this Act, the appropriate Government may release such documents relating to information schedules, which in its opinion have attained historical importance.

13. Security of recorded information.

13. Security of recorded information.—The statistics officer or any person or agency authorised for collection of statistics shall, while copying or recording any statistical information collected pursuant to this Act from individual returns, information schedules, worksheets or any other confidential source by means of cards, tapes, discs, film or any other method, whether using encoded or plain language symbols for processing, storage or reproduction of particulars, take and cause to take such steps as are necessary to ensure that the security provisions of this Act are complied with.

14. Restrictions on use of information.

14. Restrictions on use of information.—Save as otherwise provided under this Act,—

(a) no information obtained pursuant to this Act and no copy of the information in the possession of any informant shall be disclosed or used as evidence in any proceedings whatsoever; and

(b) no person who has access to any information because of his official position in the collection of any statistics shall be compelled in any proceedings whatsoever to give oral testimony regarding the information or to produce any schedule, document, or record with respect to any information obtained in the course of administering this Act,

except in the manner provided under this Act.

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