Some PerspectiveAnalysis

Statistics

Statistical suppression spiked to a peak, then stayed high

SSI is a 0-10 weighted sum of graded suppression severities across six documented streams — suppressed surveys, delayed releases, methodology disputes, and statistical-body resignations. It was 0 across the UPA years, then peaked at 9.0 in 2021-22 as the COVID-mortality undercount (official ~0.5M deaths vs 3-5M excess) stacked on the census delay, the withheld consumption survey, the shelved GDP back-series and the permanent merger of the NSSO into the NSO, and remains at 6.4 in 2026 — even as the 2021 Census stayed incomplete.

A democratic state is being audited with less independent data than before — the acute events eased, but the institutional damage is permanent.

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About this reading

This is one of 36 standing analyses drawn from the Some Perspective dataset. It is not dated commentary: it describes a relationship in the data that holds across the series, and it is regenerated whenever the underlying dataset is refreshed. The figures quoted here reflect the 2026-08-15 data vintage.

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Raman, V.S. Some Perspective: India's Economic Transformation. someperspective.info · CC BY 4.0 · data vintage 2026-08-15. Cite & download · All analyses