National Survey on Household Income and Expenditure (2004-05) was primarily aimed to generate more robust and reliable estimate of household income besides other sets of information such as demographic profile of households (religion, caste, education, occupation, etc), estimates of market size and penetration of manufactured consumer goods (consumables and durables) and ownership patterns. The target population of the survey was the total population in the country, with states and urban/rural categories as sub-populations or target groups, for whom representative estimates were also sought. This was a household survey and a three-stage stratified sample design was adopted in which a ready-made frame was used at least for the first two stages, and a sampling frame i.e., list of households, was developed in the last stage. Sample districts, villages and households formed the first, second and third stage sample units respectively for selection of the rural sample, while cities/towns, urban wards and households were the three stages of selection for the urban sample. The sample sizes at first, second and third stages in rural and urban areas were determined on the basis of available resources and the derived level of precision for key estimates from the survey .

Dataset and documentation can be ordered through the address given below. Details about the data can viewed by clicking the documentation attached here: Data-Documentation (4.8 MB)

Charges for the dataset are mentioned in the ORDER FORM. Please select the applicable category for the payment. Payments are to be made through a cheque or a demand draft favouring NCAER-Centre for Macro Consumer Research (NCAER-CMCR) and mailed or couriered to the address given below along with the order form and undertaking.

Ms. Preeti Kakkar, Senior Research Fellow,

NCAER - CMCR, National Council of Applied Economic Research, ParisilaBhawan, 11 IndraprasthaEstate, New Delhi-110002. Telephone: (91-11) 23379861 /2 /3 /5 /6 /8, 23379857, Fax: (91-11) 2337-0164.

The Annual NCAER-NBER-ICRIER Neemrana Conference is held at the Neemrana Fort Palace Resort in Rajasthan, India. The conference is organised jointly by the National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER), New Delhi and National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) of Cambridge, MA. In 2008 the Indian Council for Research in International Economic Relations (ICRIER) also joined this initiative as a partner institution. The conference brings together Indian policy makers, researchers, regulators and other professionals to interact with leading American researchers and policy makers associated with NBER. The conference is informal and off-the-record to allow free discussions on current issues related to economic policy and research covering a range of topics including macro economy (monetary and fiscal policy), international trade, banking and finance, privatisation, regulation, economic reforms, employment, poverty, social sector and delivery of services. As is evident from the list, current and on-going problems facing the policy makers are selected as themes and discussion is focussed around these themes. This year's conference was the twelfth such conference in the series and was held from December 18 to 20 2010.

In a recently completed study the National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER) has provided a detailed review of the implementation process for infrastructure projects in India. The findings of the study sponsored by Holcim Ltd were released as a background paper and discussed at a Workshop held on December 1, 2010, with the idea to learn from practitioners and other experts and discuss the way forward. The study illustrates the complexity of the process of infrastructure project execution in the case of power, ports and airports, followed by a systematic examination of the constraints in the efficient implementation of the projects in the case of power and roads. It also provides some insights into how the Chinese have fared so much better in infrastructure development. The next phase of the study would take up specific projects in both public and private sectors, rural and urban, to understand the issues at the ground level.

The Indian economy has experienced exponential growth in the last decade, but the rural poor still remain an issue of national concern. Additionally, it is a widely shared view that fast-paced economic growth could easily exacerbate existing iniquities in a stratified society like India's if the growth is not inclusive. Apart from income inequality, persistent differences in access to public infrastructure and social services like education and health are also significant concerns for India. Without accountable institutions that deliver public goods and services to the whole community it may be difficult to create conditions for the rural poor to escape the clutches of poverty by taking advantage of the economic opportunities opened up by globalised markets. Committed to the cause of inclusive growth, the 73rd Amendment to the Indian Constitution sought to decentralise rural governance, and subsequently service delivery, in order to enhance effectiveness.

The broad objectives of this study refer to analysing the impact of introducing comprehensive goods and services tax (GST) on economic growth and international trade; changes in rewards to the factors of production; and output, prices, capital, employment, efficiency and international trade at the sectoral level. The results and conclusions of this study are comparative static in nature and may not be interpreted as forecasts of the variables under analysis.

NCAER and Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR), London, jointly organised a conference on "India in the G20: Macro policy coordination, financial sector regulation and global reforms" in New Delhi on June 1, 2009. The event was supported by a grant from the British High Commission in India.

The conference brought together economists from Europe and India to discuss the global initiatives taken till date to stymie further economic slowdown and suggest conditions for the revival of growth. The current global economic crisis has led to a range of responses by the individual countries as well as some collective international responses. The G20, at its April summit in London, had proposed a number of measures aimed at securing the reforms of the global financial system, strengthening institutions and, most importantly, preventing protectionism as a knee-jerk course of action. A fuller understanding of these proposals and alternatives is necessary not only to ensure revival of economic activity now but also to minimize the risks of recurrence of the present crisis in the future.

Freely downloadable public use data files are now available for the India Human Development Survey 2005 (IHDS), a nationally representative, multi-topic survey of 41,554 households in 1503 villages and 971 urban neighborhoods across India. Two one-hour interviews in each household covered health, education, employment, economic status, marriage, fertility, gender relations, and social capital. Children aged 8-11 completed short reading, writing and arithmetic tests. Additional village, school, and medical facility data will be available later.

Data files and documentation can be downloaded for free from the Inter-University Consortium for Political and Social Research (ICPSR): www.icpsr.umich.edu/cocoon/ICPSR/STUDY/22626.xml. While registration is required, the data are available at no cost. 

For further information see the IHDS web pages: www.ihds.umd.edu and www.ncaer.org. 

IHDS was jointly organized by researchers from the University of Maryland and the National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER), New Delhi. It was funded by the U.S. National Institutes of Health.