Economic Survey 2019-20 cites Wikipedia as data source, netizens question reliability

The Economic Survey 2019-20 was tabled on the floor of the Lok Sabha by Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. Wealth creation was the overarching theme of this year’s survey. It is a detailed document that not only reviews the progress of the economy in the previous 12 months but also advocates requisite policy changes that are not necessarily binding on the government.  

On this occasion, the use of certain citations has garnered the attention of people. For instance, Wikipedia, a volunteer-driven effort which is not necessarily considered as an accurate source of information, has been cited twice in Volume 1 of the survey on page 150 and 151. Two tables showing the number of banks in the global top 100 has been sourced using Wikipedia. Data has also been cited from private sources such as ICRA, heritage.org, fraserinstitute.org and Ambit Capital.  

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Here are some of the netizen reactions: 

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New concept 'Thalinomics'  introduced

The Economic Survey has seen the introduction of many new concepts such as Thalinomics. It has been dubbed as an attempt to quantify what a common person pays for a Thali across India. According to Chief Economic Advisor K Subramanian, food being integral to the growth of human capital is of paramount importance for national wealth creation. Subramanian predicts that the high rate of inflation in vegetarian and non-vegetarian thalis in 2019 is a “temporary phenomenon” which would not last long. 

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