ISLAMABAD: Finance Minster Senator Muhammad Ishaq Dar has said that the Government fully supports the idea of conducting a timely census but practicalities and security situation must be taken into account before taking the important decision in consultation with the provinces.
He was chairing the 6th meeting of the Governing Council of Pakistan Bureau of Statistics in Islamabad on Monday.
Chief Statistician of the Bureau Asif Bajwa gave a briefing on National Strategy for Development of Statistics. He said that the Bureau is looking forward to changing the manual method of data collection by using electronic data collection devices like tablets and ipads. The Minster was also informed that PBS has developed a SAARC statistical Database and Web portal which will be launched in Katmandu on 12th of next month.
The Finance Minister said that the first year of the Government passed on in fire fighting, to correct the mistakes already committed by the previous administrators of the country and now the time has come to build and improve the economy.
The Finance Minster said that PBS should include data from small markets and weekly bazaars to present a broader picture of the statistical record.
Ishaq Dar also chaired a meeting of data producers regarding coordination of statistical data.
He directed data producing bodies to coordinate with each other to have a consensus on a single verified statistical data system.
The Minister said that the government has decided to issue quarterly data instead of publishing yearly data. He said IMF agreed to revise their GDP growth, and inflation figures for Pakistan, and there is convergence that growth is moving up and inflation remains in single digit.
Post a Comment