NEW DELHI: In an age where data is widely accessible — ranging from fingerprints to what you are watching on the internet, and even your location — there is no centralised government data available on several critical issues.
During the ongoing session of Parliament, the government has on several occasions informed the House that it does not have data on issues raised by parliamentarians. These include paper leaks in examinations, discrimination against SC/ST students in educational institutions, suicides of medical interns in government hospitals, and losses caused by natural calamities.
Data on losses caused due to natural calamities
The ministry of home affairs on Wednesday, December 4, informed Parliament that the central government does not maintain data on the losses caused due to natural calamities.
In a written reply to a question in the Rajya Sabha, minister of state for home Nityanand Rai said, “The data on the losses caused due to natural calamities is not maintained centrally by this ministry.” MoS state said this while responding to a quetion by Rajya Sabha MP Randeep Singh Surjewala on the number of people who “died, injured, became permanently disabled, and are missing due to the deadliest Wayanad landslide.”
Rai, however, said that the state government of Kerala in its memorandum dated August 17, 2024, had reported death/missing of 359 persons, 95 persons with disability more than 40 per cent, and 378 injured persons hospitalized due to landslide in Wayanad.
The Union government formed an inter ministerial central team (IMCT) on August 2 this year, after a landslide and flash flood in Wayanad, Kerala, to assess the damage by the Central Government without waiting for a memorandum from the state government of Kerala.
‘No data’ on suicides of medical interns in government hospitals
The ministry of health and family welfare on Tuesday, December 3, said that it has ‘not maintained’ data on medical interns who have died by suicide in government-run hospitals.
“The data of Medical interns who have committed suicides in Government run hospitals in the country is not maintained centrally,” minister of state for health and family welfare Prataprao Jadhav informed the Rajya Sabha.
MoS Jadhav was replying to a question by Sukhendu Sekhar Ray who had asked about the number of Medical interns who have committed suicides in government-run hospitals in the country during the last five years.
The minister also informed that a 15-member national task force (NTF) was established by the anti-ragging committee of the national medical commission (NMC) in February 2024 to address the mental health and well-being of medical students.
Notably, the NTF recommended establishment of “Centralized Reporting Systems, development of a robust, centralized system for reporting and monitoring suicides, promoting supportive environment, addressing systemic issues,” the minister said in his reply.
‘Not maintained data’ on discrimination faced by SC/STs in educational institutions
The Union government has informed Parliament that it does not maintain data on cases of discrimination faced by students from scheduled caste (SC) or scheduled tribe (ST) backgrounds in central universities, IITs, AIIMS, and other public sector institutions.
The minister of social justice and empowerment, Virendra Kumar, made this admission while replying to a question by Janata Dal (United) MP Alok Kumar Suman in Lok Sabha.
“Data regarding discrimination against SC/STs in the educational institutions and public sector units is not centrally maintained,” the minister informed Parliament.
JDU MP asked whether incidents of discrimination against SC/STs had increased over the past decade, particularly in central institutions such as universities, IITs, AIIMS, and other public sector bodies. In response, Kumar cited data from the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), which showed a rise in cases registered under crimes and atrocities against SCs and STs between 2013 and 2022.
The minister, however, noted that in order to “reduce the discrimination against Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs) in Central Universities, various steps have been taken which inter-alia include setting up of SC/ST students’ cells, Equal Opportunity Cell, Student Grievance Cell, Student Grievance Redressal Committee, Liaison Officers, etc. in Higher Educational Institutions (HEIs) and issuance of regulations to safeguard the interest of students including SC/ST students. The All India Council of Technical Education has also framed strict norms to prohibit such incidents in the institutions, managed by it.”
As per NCRB data, from 2013 to 2022, over 5.24 lakh cases were registered in connection with atrocities against scheduled castes and scheduled tribes. In 2022, the number of cases registered were 67,646 in comparison to 46,201 in 2013.
No central data on paper leaks
The Union government on Monday, December 2, said that it doesn’t maintain data on paper leaks in exams conducted by Central agencies.
“Competitive Examinations are conducted by different bodies for recruitment as well as for admission to Higher Educational Institutions. Data regarding examination specific incidents is not maintained centrally in the ministry,” minister of state for education Sukanta Majumdar said in reply to a question in Lok Sabha.
On the question of whether there was mismanagement and manipulation of results in the recently conducted National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) exam in the country, the minister said, “Following the examination, reports of irregularities, cheating, and malpractices emerged. The ministry of education directed the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to undertake a comprehensive probe into allegations including conspiracy, cheating, and breach of trust.”
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