However, one key role which the NSC could and ought to perform is to approve and release official statistics of the nation. Official statistics would then have the endorsement of experts in the NSC, giving them enormous credibility. The silence could be interpreted as a signal of giving nominal autonomy to the body. Hence the strategic silence on the levers of control on approval and release of government surveys. This governmental interference has brought down sharply the value of official data not only among academic researchers but also internationally.

Source: The Telegraph December 29, 2019 19:07 UTC