The Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) has introduced a plan to release specific city-level statistical reports for over 47 million cities in India. These reports, based on data from the Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) and the Annual Survey of Unincorporated Sector Enterprises (ASUSE), aim to offer detailed urban data for policy-making and planning. By identifying these cities as per the Population Census 2011, the initiative intends to fill crucial data gaps and facilitate informed decision-making across governance levels.
The initiative by MoSPI seeks to enhance the availability of detailed urban statistics, aid in city-level policy formulation, contribute to estimating city-level GDP, and enhance comprehension of urban labor markets and enterprise dynamics. These reports will be made public annually in easily understandable formats to support various stakeholders.
MoSPI’s proposal includes two annual thematic reports: an Employment Profile of Million-Plus Cities and a City-Level Profile of Unincorporated Sector Enterprises. The former will present essential labor market indicators like Labor Force Participation Rate, Worker Population Ratio, and Unemployment Rate, while the latter will focus on the scale, structure, employment, and economic performance of the urban informal sector.
Cities play a significant role in the national economy, hosting a mix of formal and informal economic activities. However, the lack of reliable city-level statistics hampers the assessment of labor market conditions and the performance of the unincorporated sector. The initiative also aims to generate data for developing city-level Gross Domestic Product (GDP) estimates.
To gather feedback and suggestions, a consultation paper outlining the framework for generating city-level estimates has been published on the MoSPI website. Stakeholders are encouraged to review and provide input on the proposed framework, indicators, methodology, and dissemination strategy.
