RBI sets up expert committee on benchmarking of its statistics

The RBI on Monday announced setting up a committee under deputy governor Michael Debabrata Patra on benchmarking the statistics regularly disseminated by it against global standards. The 10-member 'Expert Committee on Benchmarking of its Statistics' has been asked to submit a report by the end of November 2024.

The panel, chaired by Patra, will also study the quality of other regular data, where such benchmarks do not exist (like sectors of national priority) and provide guidance on the scope for any further data refinement.

The other members of the committee are R B Barman (former chairman, National Statistical Commission), Sonalde Desai (National Council of Applied Economic Research, New Delhi and University of Maryland, USA), Partha Ray (Director, National Institute of Bank Management, Pune), and Bimal Roy (former chairman, National Statistical Commission; and former director, Indian Statistical Institute, Kolkata).

Paul Schreyer (former chief statistician, OECD), Bruno Tissot (head of Statistics and Research Support, Bank for International Settlements), and Sudarshan Sen (former executive director, RBI) are also members of the panel. Executive directors of the RBI -- Muneesh Kapur and O P Mall -- are also members of the expert committee.