It is a 50% centrally assisted scheme (plan) Kerala is one of the three States (West Bengal, Orissa, Kerala) in India where a comprehensive system of land records has not been in existence, hence called a Non-land record State. Government of India in the Ministry of Agriculture has declared Directorate of Economics & Statistics as State Agricultural Statistics Authority (SASA). The scheme envisaged the collection of data for estimating area and production for each agricultural year by doing crop cutting experiments in selected zones which is a panchayat or one or more panchayats. The object of the scheme is to prepare annual statistics of land use, area and production of crops at district level.Crop estimation survey for the major crops are also being conducted under this scheme. In addition to the above three minor crops also are selected for crop estimation survey (CES) every year by rotation. Data required by the National Insurance Company for implementing the Crop Insurance Scheme of Govt. Of India are also given by this Dept. by conducting crop-cutting experiments on Paddy.

The Vital Statistics unit of this Department continued to engage in the collection, compilation, tabulation and analysis of data on births and deaths for publication of Vital Statistics of the State. The data generated through civil registration under the Registration of Births and Death Act, 1969 are collected. The Chief Registrar of Births and Deaths is the Director of Panchayat s and Additional Chief Registrar of Birth and death is Additional Director of this Department.. The District Panchyat officers are the District Registrars. The commissioners of Municipalities and Corporations are empowered with powers of the District Registrars. In Corporations Health Officers are appointed as Local Registrars and in Minicipalities and Guruvayoor Township, the senior most Health Inspectors are the Local Registrars. In the rural area the Executive Officers of the Panchayats function as the Local Registrars for the purpose of civil registration. The Local Registrars furnish the details of births and deaths in the prescribed forms regularly to the Directorate of Economics and Statistics where further processing of the data on vital events (births and deaths) is carried out.

Survey on Census of death (rural) survey on medical certification of cause of death and sport check survey are also conducted by this Division

Collection of the various types of prices and computation of price indices have been a regular item of work of this Department. There has been an increasing demand for the price data from various quarters like, Central and State Government Departments, Institutions, Researches, etc.The price collection work is being carried out by a network of staff spread over the entire state. Preparation of monthly Consumer Price Index for Agricultural and Industrial works is one of the major works of this division. This division collects data for preparation of daily price bulletin for broadcast through All India Radio. Preparation of wholesale price index and parity index are also done by this division. Retail prices and wholesale prices of various commodities are collected from different centers for the preparation of various daily, weekly and monthly reports.

The State Income division has been computing estimates of State Domestics Product from 1955 onwards, according to the standard methodology issued by the Central Statistical Organization. The work relating to the economic classification of State expenditure including Government undertakings and local bodies and preparation of standard tables on regional accounts and capital formation are also undertaken from 1978 onwards.

The National Sample Survey (NSS) was set up in 1950 on the recommendations of National Income Committee, chaired by late Prof. P. C. Mahalanobis to fill up large gaps in statistical data for computation of national income aggregates, especially in respect of unorganized / household sector of the economy. NSSO has been conducting multi-subject integrated sample surveys all over the country in the form of successive rounds relating to various aspects of social, economic, demographic, industrial and agricultural statistics. In order to strike a balance between the urgent need for the data on wide variety of topics and the constraint of the limited resources, both financial and others, the NSS from its very inception has been following a multi-subject integrated survey system. The Socio-Economic Surveys cover the whole of the Indian Union except for a few inaccessible and difficult pockets.DES is taking part in NSS work on a matching sample basis. Although initially it was envisaged that NSS should concentrate on collecting data to fill up the gaps in statistics required for national income estimation, gradually the scope has widened to meet the needs of planning. The NSS consists of Central Sample and an equal matching sample known as State Sample.  Fieldwork of Central Sample is done by NSSO and the fieldwork & processing of State Sample by state DES.  NSS has now completed 65th  round of surveys covering a wide range of socio economic subjects such as agriculture, industry, consumer expenditure, employment, live stock, debts & investments, domestic tourism, housing condition etc. The report of 60th round has been recently published by DES. From the 62nd round onwards the number of state samples has increased to 50% with the objective to derive the estimates at district level.

The 66th round survey  is currently going on and the period of this survey is from 1st July 2009 to 30th June 2010. This round is earmarked for survey on household consumer expenditure and Employment and Unemployment. The schedules using for 66th round are

• Schedule 0.0    -  List of households
• Schedule 1.0(Type I & Type II) €“ Consumer Expenditure
• Schedule 10     -  Employment and Unemployment

For the 66th round the total samples alloted to the state are 840 of which 492 are Rural samples and 348 are Urban samples.

The scheme for conducting cost of cultivation survey was initiated in 1979-80.    The survey intends to find out the cost of cultivation of the major crops and few minor crops covered in EARAS. This survey is spread out in 38 Taluks. From the Taluks zones are selected. Plots are selected from the zones as per the list available from EARAS (that of the previous year). Thus cultivators are also listed from the selected plots.

The evaluation wing was started in 1973. Evaluation Division conducts annual Evaluation Study of the schemes implemented by the soil conservation department in all districts.

A number of labour legislation were enacted for the purpose of providing a healthier, safer and more pleasant environment for workmen and improving their productivity. Among them Factories Act, 1948, Payments of Wages Act, 1936 and Industrial Disputes Act 1967 have a significant role to perform in regulating and controlling the welfare amenities of the factory workers and employers. The data collected under the Labour Legislation excluding the above enactment are supportive for the effective labour administration and provide significant indicators of economic development.

The labour unit of the department continued to engage in the collection, tabulation and analysis of data under the above enactment and the preparation of reports for dissemination. The returns (Annual and Half Yearly) under Factories Act which are statutory in nature are collected from the Factory units registered under Section 2 m(i), Section 2m (ii) and section 85 of the Act. Under the payment of wages Act the factory management are required to furnish the annual returns (From IV) containing the relevant information relating to the workers in the factories earning less than Rs.1600/- p.m. The non-statutory returns (monthly) under Industrial Disputes Act relating to work stoppage, closure, retrenchment etc. Are collected from the establishments where industrial disputes are prevailing. The returns under the Factories Act and Payment of Wages Act are received through the Directorate of Factories and Boilers in this directorate where further processing of the data is done and the tabulated data furnished to the Labour Bureau. The monthly returns under the Industrial Disputes Act are collected through the District Labour Officers/ Chief Inspector of plantations and monthly reports forwarded to the Labour Bureau. Apart from them, other items of work concerning Maternity Benefit Act are also attended to by the Labour Unit.

The Housing Statistics Cell was set up in the Directorate of Economics and Statistics in 1967. It guides and co-ordinates the working of the housing cell functioning in the Public Works Department and in the Directorate of Municipalities, and also collects data directly from the three City Corporations in the State. In addition to this data on prices of building materials and wage rates in the housing construction sector are also collected and published. This information on house construction activities is very useful for the formulation of housing policies.

IIP measures the impact of development in the field of industrial sector over a period of time in the state. The Index covers production in the manufacturing and electricity generation sectors in the state.

The Annual Survey of Industries (ASI) is the principal source of data on various aspects of registered establishments classified under manufacturing, electricity, gas & water supply and repair & services. The Field Operations Division (FOD) of National Sample Survey Organization (NSSO) carries out the field work of the survey and CSO consolidates the results at national level. The survey covers broadly the following 3 types of units