NEW
DELHI: As the government sets out to counter views of its agency
raising eligibility of MCA-21 data as one of the tools to arrive at GDP
numbers, the
Corporate Affairs Ministry
has dismissed any bogus data within the database saying MCA-21 is on
real time basis and if a company after entering the database is
non-functional, it gets removed at the time of KYC drive.
"
MCA 21
is on real time basis. Shell, bogus companies are being eradicated… If a
company is
incorporating, it will enter the list of MCA-21. And once
the company becomes non-performing or non-functional, then in the first
or second drive, it gets removed. The KYC of company is this only.
Self-updation is happening", an MCA source said, dismissing the concerns
of
NSSO.
The NSSO in a recent report said that 36 per cent of companies that were
part of the MCA-21 database were either untraceable or were wrongly
classified. It stirred a controversy over the authenticity of the new
series of GDP numbers that takes corporate numbers using the MCA-21
database.
MCA sources said that know your customer or KYCs details have already
been verified for about 5 lakh corporates featuring on the MCA- 21 list.
They added that the system is working and the versatility of MCA-21 is
among the best in the world.
NSSO, a government statistical organisation, had cast fresh doubts on
India's economic growth figures when it brought about new facts about
the corporate data. NSSO had carried a big survey of services companies
in 2016-17 and had contacted 35,000 companies drawn from the list of
registered enterprises that file accounts online with MCA's portal based
initiative-MCA-21. NSSO had selected 35,456 companies from the 3.49
lakh firms of MCA-21.
"Out of the 39 per cent out-of-survey units in MCA, 21 per cent were
found to be out of coverage and another 12 per cent were non-traceable
(which in number is nearly 4000 units)", the NSSO had said in its
report.
In another reference, the report had said that out of total
63,420 service sector enterprises (excluding construction sector
enterprises) selected for the survey, 42,262 enterprises (67 per cent of
allocated sample) were found to be in operation at the time of
canvassing of schedules of enquiry.
In all, NSSO had said 39 per cent of the companies included in a key
database used to estimate India's economy activity and GDP growth were
closed, untraceable. The NSSO found that 21 per cent of companies
included in a database, contributing to GDP numbers, were "out of
coverage" as they were no longer operating. Another 12 per cent could
not be traced.
The NSSO, which is part of India's ministry of statistics, carries out
household surveys to gather data from social economic indicators on
health, education and also indirectly lets its survey results to be used
for official GDP figures carried by its Central Statistical
Organisation (CSO).
On Friday, Finance Ministry came out in support of MCA-21 and said GDP
overestimation due to MCA data a 'misconception' and added the chances
of GDP numbers of the government may be over-estimated due to
untraceable 'shell' companies in all likelihood is 'marginal'.