Jaipur: The National Statistical Office (NSO), North Zone Office, Jaipur, under the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI), Government of India, organized a one-day zonal-level training programme on the National Household Income Survey (NHIS) 2026 on March 10, 2026, at Hotel Royal Orchid, Jaipur.
The programme was inaugurated by Dr. Chandramani Sharma, Additional Director General, CQCD, NSO, New Delhi. The training programme was organized under the leadership of Dr. Hardeep Singh Chopra, Deputy Director General, NSO (North Zone), Jaipur.
In his inaugural address, Dr. Chandramani Sharma highlighted the importance of systematic training for field officers before the launch of large-scale national surveys. He said such training programmes help in developing a uniform and clear understanding of survey concepts, definitions and procedures. He also emphasized the importance of effective communication with respondents, stating that good communication builds trust and encourages respondents to share accurate information.
Mr. Kishor Kumar, Additional Director General, Field Operations Division (FOD), NSO, joined the programme online and emphasized the significance of NHIS. He described it as an important initiative to generate reliable and comprehensive information on household income across the country, which will strengthen the evidence base for policymaking. He also urged field officers to perform their duties with dedication and diligence.
Mr. Ajay Bakshi, Additional Director General, Household Survey Division (HSD), NSO, highlighted the key challenges involved in collecting household income information from different socio-economic groups. He noted that relatively affluent respondents may hesitate to disclose their income due to tax-related concerns, while economically weaker households may fear that sharing income details could affect their eligibility for welfare schemes. He stressed the need for field officers to establish patient and careful communication with respondents to build trust and ensure accurate reporting of income information.
On the occasion, Mr. Hansraj Yadav, Deputy Director General, Regional Office Jaipur, and Dr. Amitava Saha, Deputy Director General, Household Survey Division (HSD), also addressed the participants and emphasized the importance of maintaining high standards of data quality and uniformity during field operations.
The National Household Income Survey (NHIS) is proposed to be conducted across the country from April 2026 to March 2027. It will be India’s first pan-India survey specifically focused on measuring household income. The survey aims to fill a long-standing data gap in India’s socio-economic statistical system by collecting detailed and classified information on income from various sources in both rural and urban areas. This will help in better understanding income distribution and the economic conditions of households.
The training programme was organized to provide detailed guidance to field officers on survey concepts, definitions, methodology and data collection procedures to ensure uniformity and high quality in field operations. Technical training was provided by officers of the Household Survey Division (HSD), NSO.
Around 200 field officers, including Senior Statistical Officers, Junior Statistical Officers, Statistical Supervisors and Statistical Mitras, participated in the programme. These officers came from 30 regional and sub-regional offices located in the states of Rajasthan, Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and Jammu & Kashmir, as well as the Union Territories of Ladakh, Chandigarh and Delhi.
Considering the importance of the survey, Regional Training Camps (RTCs) will also be organized in various regional offices of the Field Operations Division (FOD) in the North Zone before the commencement of field operations to ensure proper preparedness of the field staff.
The National Statistical Office has appealed to the general public to extend full cooperation during the survey so that accurate and reliable data can be collected, which will help in effective policymaking and better implementation of government programmes.