Dr. R. Balasubramaniam, Member, NITI Aayog, and Prof. K. V. Raju, Member, NITI Aayog, participated in a panel discussion on “Data, Statistics and India’s Growth Agenda”, held as part of “Swarna Andhra @ 2047: Economic Intelligence for Governance”, a two-day capacity-building programme organised by the Planning Department, Government of Andhra Pradesh. The panel was moderated by Shri Suresh Goyal, Director General, NCAER, and featured Dr. Saurabh Garg, Secretary, MoSPI; Dr. V. Anantha Nageswaran, Chief Economic Adviser, Government of India; and Prof. S. Mahendra Dev, Chairman, EAC-PM, as fellow panellists.

Dr. Balasubramaniam emphasised that data must serve as a foundation for dignity in governance, making visible those often overlooked in averages, including informal workers and tribal communities. He noted that while India already has rich individual-level data, the priority now is to harmonise datasets across ministries, break institutional silos, and use evidence to strengthen social development and citizen capability. As India advances towards Viksit Bharat, he stressed that better decisions depend on engaging with what the data truly reveals and viewing citizens as active participants in the development journey.

The programme’s broader context was set by Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh, Shri N. Chandrababu Naidu, whose address emphasised translating the State’s growth vision into measurable, mission-mode outcomes, integrating datasets across departments and geographies, and pursuing growth that is sustainable and inclusive.