ISS 2016 Statistics Paper-2 Solution: Question 73 (Sources of Official Statistics Data)
Continuing our question-by-question walk through the ISS Statistics Paper-2 previous year papers, today we pick up right where the last post left off and tackle the next item on the 2016 paper. This one isn't a formula-heavy question — it's a concept question about how "official statistics" actually gets produced in India, and it trips up a surprising number of aspirants who assume everything in government data comes from one single process.
Quick Summary
Topic: Sources of data for Official Statistics
Question Reference: ISS 2016, Statistics Paper-2, Question 73
Correct Answer: (c) Both 1 and 2
The Question (as it appeared in the paper)
73. What are the major sources of data on Official Statistics?
Census and Sample Surveys
Administrative Records
Select the correct answer using the code given below:
(a) 1 only
(b) 2 only
(c) Both 1 and 2
(d) Neither 1 nor 2
Step 1: Understand what "Official Statistics" actually means
Before touching the options, it helps to be precise about the term itself. "Official Statistics" refers to numerical data that is collected, compiled, and published by government bodies — central ministries, state departments, and statutory organisations like the National Statistical Office (NSO) — for purposes of planning, policy-making, and public information. The key word is "official": it isn't data collected by a private research firm or an academic for a one-off study, it is data that a government agency stands behind and publishes as an authoritative record.
Once you frame it this way, the real question becomes: through what mechanisms does the government actually gather this data in the first place? That's exactly what the two statements in the question are testing.
Step 2: Examine Statement 1 — Census and Sample Surveys
A Census is a complete enumeration — every single unit in the population is covered. The Population Census of India, conducted once every ten years, is the textbook example: every household in the country is visited and recorded. This gives exact counts with no sampling error, but it is expensive and infrequent.
A Sample Survey, by contrast, collects data from only a carefully selected subset of the population and uses statistical theory to generalise the findings to the whole population. The National Sample Survey Office (NSSO, now part of NSO) runs exactly this kind of exercise — for example, surveys on household consumption expenditure, employment-unemployment, and health indicators.
Both of these — census-type complete enumeration and survey-type sampling — are genuine, well-established, and major primary sources through which the government directly collects fresh data. So Statement 1 is correct.
Step 3: Examine Statement 2 — Administrative Records
This is the part many students underrate. A huge share of official statistics is not collected through a dedicated "data collection exercise" at all — it is a by-product of routine administrative functioning. When a birth or death is registered under the Civil Registration System, when income tax returns are filed, when a company is registered with the Ministry of Corporate Affairs, when an export consignment clears customs — each of these administrative acts generates a data record as a side effect of doing something else (registering, taxing, licensing, clearing goods).
These administrative records are then compiled and aggregated into statistics. Trade statistics, vital statistics (births/deaths), and a large part of banking and taxation statistics are built this way rather than through a dedicated survey. So Statement 2 is also correct, and it is a major source in its own right, not a minor supplementary one.
Pro Tip: The trap in this question is assuming "official statistics" must mean a deliberate statistical exercise (census/survey) was carried out. In reality, roughly half of what gets published as official statistics in India comes from administrative-by-product data rather than purpose-built data collection. Whenever an ISS or allied exam question asks you to classify "sources of statistics," always mentally split it into these two buckets — direct collection (census/survey) versus administrative/secondary records — before you even look at the options. This habit of sorting information into the right bucket first, rather than reading the options and guessing, is the kind of drilling that is usually emphasised early on when this topic is taught, including at a place like Sunrise Classes, precisely because it prevents silly misreads under exam pressure.
Step 4: Eliminate the options
With both statements established as correct:
(a) 1 only — incorrect, because it wrongly excludes administrative records.
(b) 2 only — incorrect, because it wrongly excludes census and surveys.
(d) Neither 1 nor 2 — incorrect, since both are in fact valid major sources.
(c) Both 1 and 2 — correct.
Final Answer
The correct answer is (c) Both 1 and 2. This matches the official ISS 2016 answer key (Series A), which also records option C as the key for Question 73.
Why This Question Matters
This question is a good representative of the "official statistics system" portion of the ISS Paper-2 syllabus, which regularly shows up in multiple questions across years. Beyond this specific item, understanding the two-way split between direct enumeration/survey data and administrative-record data is foundational to a whole family of questions on India's statistical system — including which agency compiles which kind of statistics, a topic the very next few questions on this same paper go on to test directly.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is a Census a type of Sample Survey?
No. A Census covers every unit in the population without exception, while a Sample Survey covers only a selected subset chosen using a sampling design. They are both forms of direct, purpose-built data collection, but they are methodologically distinct — a census has no sampling error, while a survey's estimates carry a margin of sampling error that must be accounted for.
Can you give more examples of administrative-record-based statistics besides trade data?
Yes — vital statistics (births and deaths) from the Civil Registration System, education enrolment figures compiled from school records, banking statistics compiled from bank filings with the RBI, and employee provident fund data compiled from EPFO records are all common examples of statistics generated as a by-product of administrative processes rather than a dedicated survey.
Why does the ISS exam test this kind of conceptual, non-mathematical question?
Paper-2 of the ISS exam evaluates not just technical statistical theory but also a candidate's working knowledge of India's actual statistical machinery, since officers selected through this exam will later work within exactly this system. Questions like this one check whether a candidate understands how real-world official data actually gets generated, which is just as important on the job as knowing estimation theory.
Is Statement 2 really "major," or just a minor contributor?
It is major. In India, a substantial portion of published official statistics — particularly in areas like trade, vital events, taxation, and corporate activity — is sourced from administrative records rather than from any dedicated census or survey, which is precisely why the question asks you to treat it as a co-equal major source alongside census/survey data.
How should I revise this topic efficiently before the exam?
Make a simple two-column note: one column listing statistics compiled via census/survey (population, consumption, employment, health) and the other listing statistics compiled via administrative records (trade, vital events, banking, taxation). Reviewing which specific agency is responsible for each (a theme carried forward in the next couple of questions in this very paper) will reinforce both pieces together.
If anything in this walkthrough felt unclear, or if you spotted a sharper way to think about it, drop a comment below — and if you know a fellow ISS aspirant who's grinding through the same previous-year papers, send this one their way.
Comments