'No reply' to surveys jumps 100% in 5 years. Gated, urban communities more averse to respond

In the 75th round of National Sample Survey Office, the non-response rate was 2.8 percent in urban areas and 1.5 percent in rural areas.

The number of people averse to government surveys has doubled over the last five years, the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation said on September 20.

Nearly one in 15 households in urban areas surveyed by the ministry for the 79th round of the National Sample Survey did not participate in the exercise, while the non-response rate, or people refusing to participate in the survey, was 3.9 percent in rural India.

In the 75th round of National Sample Survey Office, the non-response rate was 2.8 percent in urban areas and 1.5 percent in rural areas.

In the recently conducted Household Consumption Expenditure Survey for 2022-23, the non-response rate hovered on double digits at 9.8 percent in cities and 4.1 percent in villages.

Urban, rich, and survey-shy

Delving deeper into the trend, one finds the refusal to participate in surveys is more common in higher income categories.

In the case of 79th round, the non-response rate was much higher at 9 percent for the the higher 20 percent of income classes, compared with 6 percent for lowest income households.

In rural areas, the gap was much less, with around 5 percent of the richest 20 percent of households not responding to the survey, compared with 4 percent for the bottom 20 percent.

The ministry noted that non-response was predominantly an urban phenomenon, where the rates of non response were rising much faster. The problem also pertained to surveyors not getting access to gated communities.

The ministry organised the brainstorming session on the issue of non-response in surveys by high income groups and gated societies on Friday.

Saurabh Garg, secretary to the statistics ministry, told the gathering that the ministry was looking to assuage data privacy concerns. “People have apprehensions about data anonymisation. The ministry has been doing this for last 70 years and we are always cognisant of this,” he said.