The Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation came into existence as an Independent Ministry on 15.10.1999 after the merger of the Department of Statistics and the Department of Programme Implementatation. This ministry is the nodal agency for the planned and organized development of the statistical system in the country and coordination of statistical activities among different stakeholders in Government of India, State Governments as well as meeting requirements of the International Agencies. Central Statistical Office is the statistical arm of MoSPI.

The major functions of CSO are as under:-

• Acts as the nodal agency for planned development of the statistical system in the country, lays down and maintains norms and standards in the field of statistics, involving concepts and definitions, methodology of data collection, processing of data and dissemination of results.

• Coordinates the statistical work in respect of the Ministries/Departments of the Government of India and State Statistical Bureaus (SSBs), advises the Ministries/ Departments of the Government of India on statistical methodology and on statistical analysis of data.

• Compiles and releases the Index of Industrial Production (IIP) every month in the form of ‘quick estimates’; conducts the Annual Survey of Industries (ASI); and provides statistical information to assess and evaluate the changes in the growth, composition and structure of the organised manufacturing sector.

• Organizes and conducts periodic all-India Economic Censuses and follow-up enterprise surveys, provides an in-house facility to process the data collected through various socio economic surveys and follow-up enterprise surveys of Economic Censuses.

• Examines the survey reports from the technical angle and evaluates the sampling design including survey feasibility studies in respect of surveys conducted by the National Sample Survey Organisations and other Central Ministries and Departments.

• Dissemination of statistical information on various aspects through a number of publications distributed to Government, semi-Government, or private data users/ agencies; and disseminates data, on request, to the United Nations agencies like the UNSD, the ESCAP, the ILO and other international agencies.

• Maintains liaison with international statistical organizations, such as, the United Nations Statistical Division (UNSD), the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), the Statistical Institute for Asia and the Pacific (SIAP), the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the Asian Development Bank (ADB), the Food and Agriculture Organizations (FAO), the International Labour Organizations (ILO), etc.

• Prepares national accounts as well as publishes annual estimates of national product, government and private consumption expenditure, capital formation, savings, estimates of capital stock and consumption of fixed capital, as also the state level gross capital formation of supra-regional sectors and prepares comparable estimates of State Domestic Product (SDP) at current prices.

• Conducts large scale all-India sample surveys for creating the database needed for studying the impact of specific problems for the benefit of different population groups in diverse socio-economic areas, such as employment, consumer expenditure, housing conditions and environment, literacy levels, health, nutrition, family welfare, etc.

• Releases grants-in-aid to registered Non-Governmental Organizations and research institutions of repute for undertaking special studies or surveys, printing of statistical reports, and financing seminars, workshops and conferences relating to different subject areas of official statistics. The Collection of Statistics Act, 2008 and coordination of follow-up on the implementation of recommendations of NSC recommendations. The administrative work relating to Indian Statistical Institute (ISI) is also looked after by CAP Division.