Central Survey Organisation (CSO):
It is responsible for coordination of statistical activities in the country and for evolving and maintaining statistical standards. Its activities include compilation of National Accounts; conduct of Annual Survey of Industries and Economic Censuses, compilation of Index of Industrial Production, as well as Consumer Price Indices. It also deals with various social statistics, training, international cooperation, Industrial Classification etc. The CSO is headed by a Director-General who is assisted by 5 Additional Director-Generals looking after the National Accounts Division, Social Statistics Division, Economic Statistics Division, Training Division and the Coordination and Publication Division. Head office of CSO is located in the New Delhi. The Industrial Statistics Wing of CSO is located in Kolkata. The Computer Centre also under the CSO is located New Delhi.
National Sample Survey Organisation (NSSO):
Constitution of NSSO: Professor P.C. Mahalanobis, who as the head of the Indian Statistical Institute, had been directing the large-scale sample surveys of crop acreage and yield statistics for several years and proposed to the Government of India to set up a permanent survey organization to conduct national sample surveys to assist in socio-economic planning and policy-making. Accordingly, the National Sample Survey Organization (NSSO) came into being in 1950 and the first round of the NSS covering rural India, was conducted during October 1950 - March-1951. A wide range of surveys were covered since the first round.
The NSSO soon after its formation proceeded to conduct multi-subject household enquiries, designed to fill gaps in the data required for planning, in randomly selected villages and urban blocks spread over the entire geographical area of the country. With increasing demand for reliable estimates at State level and regional level, the need for large samples has been felt by Government and efforts made to enlarge the sample size over the years. At present the NSS covers, in each round, a sample of about 12,000 to 14,000 villages and blocks at the all-India level in the "Central sample" (covered by the NSSO) and an independent sample of about 14,000 to16,000 villages and block at the all-India level through “State sample" (covered by various State/ Union Territories). The field work for the Central sample is undertaken by a team of investigators of the Field Operations Division of the NSSO and that of State sample by Primary Investigators of Directorate of Economics and Statistics of the States.