Cabinet Approves VISTAR: A ₹4,371 Crore Plan to Modernise India's Official Statistics
The Union Cabinet approved a new central sector scheme called VISTAR (Viksit Bharat Initiative for Statistical Transformation, Analytics and Research) for the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI).
The scheme has an outlay of ₹4,371.10 crore for five years, from 2026-27 to 2030-31. It covers all the statistical and data work of MoSPI, and money can be shifted between activities as policy needs change.
It has three components: (1) Comprehensive Statistical Operations and Strengthening of Ecosystem, (2) Support for Statistical Strengthening (SSS), which funds states and Union Territories through a redesigned, results-linked "SSS 2.0", and (3) the 8th Economic Census, to be done with the states and UTs.
MoSPI plans 59 surveys in the 16th Finance Commission period, up from 43 major surveys earlier. New measures planned include a Headline Index of Services Production and an Index of Unincorporated Sector Enterprises.
The scheme will build AI and machine learning into data processing, checking and analysis, and will use alternative data such as mobile phone, scanner and e-commerce data to support traditional surveys and reduce the burden on people answering them.
The Economic Census will give data on non-farm businesses and their workers down to the Gram Panchayat and ward level. It will form the base of a National Statistical Business Register and help estimate how much the unorganised (informal) sector adds to GDP.
Annual Survey of Unincorporated Sector Enterprises (ASUSE)
The Annual Survey of Unincorporated Sector Enterprises, or ASUSE, is India's main official survey of small, unregistered-as-company businesses outside farming. Think of the roadside tea stall, the local tailor, the kirana shop, the small furniture workshop or the mobile repair shop. The survey counts how many such businesses exist, how many people they employ, how much value they produce and how they run. It is carried out by the National Statistics Office (NSO) under the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI).
VISTAR plans an Index of Unincorporated Sector Enterprises, more surveys and an 8th Economic Census to build a business register. All of these strengthen the data on small businesses that ASUSE measures, so that the informal sector's share in GDP can be estimated more accurately.
Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI)
MoSPI is the central ministry that produces India's main official numbers, such as GDP, CPI inflation, industrial output and employment data. It also monitors some government programmes, such as the MPLADS scheme and large infrastructure projects. Its statistics wing, the National Statistics Office (NSO), runs surveys and compiles national accounts. Almost every major policy decision in India depends on the data that MoSPI produces.
VISTAR is MoSPI's umbrella scheme for 2026-27 to 2030-31. It brings surveys, the Economic Census, support to states, AI tools and new data sources under one budget head, so that MoSPI can produce faster, more detailed and better-linked data.
National Income Accounting and GDP Measurement
National income accounting is the system a country uses to measure the size of its economy. Its best-known number is GDP, the total value of all final goods and services produced within the country in a year. In India, the NSO under MoSPI prepares these estimates. A big challenge is measuring the large informal sector, where small businesses keep few records.
The scheme's stated goal is to make GDP figures more accurate by filling data gaps, especially for the unorganised sector and services. Better business lists and more frequent surveys mean less estimation by assumption.
- Scheme name: VISTAR (Viksit Bharat Initiative for Statistical Transformation, Analytics and Research)
- Type: Central sector scheme of MoSPI
- Outlay: ₹4,371.10 crore; period: 2026-27 to 2030-31
- Three components: Comprehensive Statistical Operations and Strengthening of Ecosystem; Support for Statistical Strengthening (SSS 2.0); Economic Census (8th)
- Surveys planned: 59 in the 16th Finance Commission cycle (earlier 43 major surveys)
- New indices planned: Headline Index of Services Production; Index of Unincorporated Sector Enterprises
- Economic Census data down to Gram Panchayat and ward level; base for a National Statistical Business Register
- Alternative data sources: mobile phone, scanner and e-commerce data
- Capacity building: internship scheme for students and research proposals from academic institutions
- Same Cabinet meeting also approved ₹14,500 crore viability gap funding for 92 GWh of grid-scale energy storage (FY27 to FY31)