The National Statistics Office (NSO) is conducting the large-scale household surveys on diverse social and economic subjects. NSS is a vital source of official statistics for evidence-based policymaking, capturing household welfare, consumption, employment, health, assets, indebtedness and related aspects of socio-economic development.
The survey provides critical data on household indebtedness and asset ownership across both rural and urban areas. Its findings are instrumental in shaping national accounts, assessing inequality in asset distribution, understanding credit markets, and informing policies of the RBI, MoSPI, and other government institutions.
The SAS of Agricultural Households, first launched in 2003, is designed to assess the economic conditions of farming communities. Expanded in 2013 to cover all agricultural households and further strengthened in the 2019 round, the SAS now provides comprehensive insights into the livelihoods of agricultural households.
The survey covers, among other aspects: household income and expenditure, indebtedness and access to credit, land and livestock ownership, crop and livestock production, farming practices and use of technology and access to government schemes and crop insurance. NITI Aayog, researchers, financial institutions and government use the survey findings to shape policies and programmes aimed at agriculture and rural development.
