Source authority
Sources are ranked into five tiers, based on institutional independence and statutory authority:
- Tier 1. Constitutional and statutory bodies: RBI, CAG, ECI, RGI (SRS, Census).
- Tier 2. Central government ministries: MoSPI, NCRB, MoHFW, MoE.
- Tier 3. Major surveys and institutional research: NFHS (IIPS), UDISE+, ASER (Pratham), AISHE.
- Tier 4. State government: TN DES, departmental policy notes.
- Tier 5. Private and academic: CMIE, Indiastat, ISB, NIPFP.
When sources disagree
More than one authoritative source often publishes different values for the same indicator. NFHS and HMIS report different IMR figures; MoSPI, RBI, and CMIE report different GSDP figures. In those cases the page shows:
- A primary value, taken from the highest-tier source whose methodology most closely matches the indicator definition.
- Up to three alternates behind a disclosure on the datapoint, with the percentage difference from the primary and a short note on why they differ.
- Methodology and reference period for each, so readers can judge for themselves which figure to use.
Series breaks
When a source's methodology changes mid-stream (for example, GSDP being rebased to 2011-12 prices in 2015), the break point is annotated on the chart. The old and new series are not spliced by default; they are shown as two segments. Splicing is done only when a specific method is documented in the data point's notes.
Refresh cadence
Data is refreshed quarterly through a reviewed update process. Annual sources (NCRB, RBI Handbook, UDISE+) are picked up whenever a new release lands. Every change is attributed and timestamped; the change history for any indicator is recorded in version control.
What is not done
- No new estimates are constructed from raw data. Every value here was already published by a primary source.
- No editorialising appears on data pages. Any analysis lives in separate write-ups.
- Aggregations across incompatible methodologies are flagged, not silently combined.