India was unanimously elected in April 2023 to become a member of the commission from 1 January 2024. During this tenure, India, along with 24 other members, will play an essential role in deciding the "role in setting of statistical standards and the development of concepts and methods, including their implementation at the national and international level."
India's membership is seen as important as a global youth leader. It comes at a time when international bodies are trying to create a regular database of parameters under the Sustainable Development Goals.
Indian representative Prasanta Chandra Mahalanobis chaired the commission during its eighth and ninth sessions in 1954 and 1956, while V.R. Rao took up the chairmanship in 1976.
According to experts, the most crucial business India will participate in is the finalization and implementation of the 2025 System of National Accounts (SNA).
The current estimates of national income are based on the 2008 SNA, with 2011-12 as the base year. Experts argue that developing countries, primarily those in the Global South, are at a disadvantage as many of their economic activities cannot be measured.
Apart from the unquantified issues of unpaid work and digitalization, other important issues include the measurement of human well-being and the impact of climate change.
The commission consists of five members from the African states, four from the Asia-Pacific region, four each from eastern Europe and Latin America and the Caribbean, and seven more from western Europe and other regions.