Islamabad, March 20, 2018 (PPI-OT): 3rd meeting of the Standing Committee on Statistics was held today under the Chairmanship of Dr.Ramesh Kumar Vankwani, MNA.The meeting started with the recitation from the Holy Quran.Then, the Committee decided to proceed with the agenda.The Committee confirmed the minutes of its previous meeting held on 27th February, 2018.
The Federal Secretary, Ministry of Statistics, Ms. RukhsanaYasmeengave a briefing regarding the compliance report on the recommendations of the previous meeting the Standing Committee. It was told that the issues being faced by the Ministry in framing the Terms of References and hiring the services of a third party to conduct audit of the 6th Population Census of Pakistan shall be tabled before the Council of Common Interest in its upcoming meeting for obtaining a conclusive decision in that regard. The Committee appreciated the steps taken by the Ministry to reflect the activities of the Standing Committee on Statistics on its web sites.
The Ministry also gave a detailed briefing on the Primary Sources of Data. It was told that the Industrial and Agricultural Surveys of Pakistan were being conducted every 10 years. The Committee, while stressing the importance of the statistics in policy making and planning, recommended the Ministry to conduct both the said surveys at least every 5 years. It was further recommended to explore new avenues of collecting and preparing statistical data involving issues such as working women, use of internet, water resources and consumption, climate change etc.
The Committee also recommended that the Ministry should take appropriate measures to overcome the problem of non-provision of data by the provinces as it was primarily the responsibility of Pakistan Bureau of Statistics to collect and maintain statistical data. The Ministry apprised the Committeeregarding its plan to engage via MOUs the Statistical Departments of various Universities and Colleges to develop and introduce a text book on statistics. The Committee also considered and disposed of, on the recommendation of the Ministry, “The General Statistics (Reorganization) (Amendment) Bill, 2017 referred to the Committee on 2nd Oct, 2017 by the Government.
The meeting was attended by the Honourable MNA/Members Dr. ShezraMansab Ali Khan Kharral, Ms. RominaKhurshidAlam, Ms. SabihaNazir, Dr. Nafeesa Shah, Mr. Lal Chand Malhi and Mr. AqibUllahKhanMNA and senior officers from the Ministry of Statistics and Pakistan Bureau of Statistics.
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