This short chapter will present some of the sources of statistical data for key economic and human development fundamentals of the Indian economy discussed in this book, including industry information, poverty, population, height, literacy and health.

BUSINESS AND INDUSTRY

The Annual Survey of Industries (ASI) is conducted every year by the Indian Ministry of Statistics. The survey conducts a sample of all registered factories employing 10 or more workers using electric power, or 20 or more workers without using power. The surveyed factories are those registered as factories under the 1948 Factories Act and so comprise the organized (registered) part of Indian manufacturing. All firms employing 100 or more workers are surveyed annually and smaller factories are sampled. Plants report on the value of output, materials and fuels. There have been some changes in methodology and industrial classifications over time and there were noted problems with the collection of data in 1996–7. This makes it difficult to compare data over time.

Another source of data is the Prowess database collected by the Centre for Monitoring the Indian Economy (CMIE) from company balance sheets and income statements. This covers about 10,800 firms in the organized sector, those registered companies that submit financial statements. This includes firms in a wide range of industries including mining, basic manufacturing, financial and real estate services, and energy distribution. One problem is that apart from some financial data which goes back to 1989, the Prowess database only goes back to 1995 which makes it hard to study the before and after impact of liberalization in 1991. An advantage over the ASI data, which is based on annual samples, is that the Prowess data covers the same firms over time, which makes it easier to see how firms adjust in response to policy and other changes. However, unlisted foreign firm’s data is only available if firms choose to disclose financial information; some, such as McDonalds and Coca Cola refuse to do so. Data is collected on firms classified across 62 industries by size of firm, by assets and sales, profitability and ownership (foreign, public or private).