NCAER - NATIONAL DATA INNOVATION CENTRE
Any economy is an aggregation of different sectors. To understand the interactions between these sectors within the economy, NCAER partners with institutions to collect data for a wide range of sectors like agriculture, fisheries, handlooms, housing, ICT, inland waterways, youth readership and business expectations.
Consumer surveys measure consumer behaviour with a focus on consumption of market goods. These surveys are important both for profit-making organisations, who use the data to improve marketing strategies, and for those involved in policy design. Evaluating the expenditure patterns of consumers can help a government understand by identifying social sectors that need additional attention.
National surveys collect data for the entire country: both the constituent states and union territories. Unlike the Census of India, which enumerates every household unit in the country, the national surveys pick samples of households from each state so that the final sample is representative of the entire country. Besides the government, NCAER is the only other organization in India conducting national surveys.
NCAER with its consortium partners, University of Maryland and University of Michigan, has recently set up a new National Data Innovation Centre (NDIC). The main objective of NCAER-NDIC is to serve as a laboratory for experiments in data collection, interfacing with partners in think tanks, Indian and international universities, and government. Initial funding for NDIC is provided by Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Dr Sonalde Desai, Senior Fellow, NCAER and Professor, University of Maryland, is serving as its first director.
