NITI NCAER States Economic Forum Portal:
Amid complaints by opposition-ruled states that they faced discrimination in the sharing of resources, the Union Finance Minister will launch the “NITI NCAER States Economic Forum” portal.
- It was developed by NITI Aayog, in collaboration with the National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER).
- It is a comprehensive repository of data on social, economic, and fiscal parameters, research reports, papers, and expert commentary on state finances for a period of about 30 years from 1990-91 to 2022-23.
- The portal has four main components, namely:
- State Reports – summarising the macro and fiscal landscape of 28 Indian States, structured around indicators on demography, economic structure, and socio-economic and fiscal indicators.
- Data Repository – offering direct access to the complete database categorised across five verticals, viz. Demography; Economic Structure; Fiscal; Health and Education.
- State Fiscal and Economic Dashboard – showcasing graphical representations of key economic variables over time and provide quick access to raw data through a data appendix or additional information through summary tables.
- Research and Commentary – draws on extensive research on State finances and critical aspects of fiscal policy and financial management at the State and national levels.
- The portal will facilitate an understanding of macro, fiscal, demographic, and socio-economic trends; easily accessible data and a user-friendly format; and will also address the ongoing need for consolidated sectoral data in one place.
- It will further help in benchmarking the data of each state against that of other States and the national figures.
- It will also provide a forum for policymakers, researchers, and others interested in alluding to the data for informed debates and discussions.
- The portal will serve as a comprehensive research hub, offering a wealth of data and analytical tools for in-depth research studies.
- By leveraging historical trends and real-time analytics, users will be able to track progress, identify emerging patterns, and formulate evidence-based policies for development.
