BRICS National Statistical Offices Meeting Concludes in Lucknow
The two-day meeting of Heads of National Statistical Offices (NSO) of BRICS Member Countries concluded on 4th August 2026 in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, India. The event brought together more than 350 participants including representatives from National Statistical Offices of BRICS countries, policy makers, academia, think-tanks, civil society organizations, and technical experts. The meeting was held under the theme "Quality Statistics as a Driver of Change" aligned with the overarching BRICS theme of "Building for Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability".
Technical Sessions on Statistical Innovation
During the second day, Technical Session-III focused on 'Identifying Common Innovation Areas for Potential BRICS Collaboration' with presentations on Modern Survey Methods & Digital Data Collection. India shared its experience in shifting from paper-based surveys to modern tools like e-SIGMA (e-Survey Information Gathering and Management Application), a Computer Assisted Personal Interview (CAPI) enabled platform designed to integrate large-scale sample surveys into cloud-based architecture. Egypt highlighted the use of geospatial technology in producing official statistics. The session emphasized the importance of AI in survey implementations and the nuanced use of administrative data alongside survey data.
Technical Session IV focused on strengthening macroeconomic and sectoral statistics, with India presenting its transition roadmap for implementing the System of National Accounts, 2025 (2025 SNA) and demonstrating effective use of administrative data. China shared its progress and early practical experiences in introducing the 2025 SNA framework. Brazil showcased the integration of alternative data sources, particularly publicly available online data from expanding e-commerce and intermediary platforms, emphasizing that non-traditional data can complement existing sources to enhance statistical quality. Indonesia presented its implementation plan to transition to 2025 SNA while also highlighting their adoption of ISIC 5.
Side Events and Bilateral Agreements
A side event titled "Building AI-Ready Public Data Systems in the Evolving Data Ecosystem" was organized in collaboration with the Janaagraha Centre for Citizenship and Democracy. The discussions emphasized the importance of interoperable, trusted, and high-quality public data systems for responsible AI adoption and evidence-based governance. The event featured a moderated roundtable discussion on practical building blocks for AI-ready public data systems, followed by country case studies from India, South Africa, Russia, Indonesia, China, the UAE, and other partner organizations. Participants shared experiences on strengthening data governance, interoperability, metadata standards, institutional collaboration, and capacity building.
On the sidelines of the meeting, the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI), Government of India, and BPS–Statistics Indonesia signed a Letter of Intent (LoI) during a bilateral meeting to strengthen cooperation in official statistics, capacity building, and strategic collaboration. The LoI provides a framework for collaboration in areas including knowledge exchange, technological and methodological advancement, human resource development, and emerging areas such as AI, metadata standardization, and open data.
Conclusion and Joint Statement
The session concluded with the adoption of the BRICS Joint Statement, which marks a significant milestone in strengthening statistical frameworks across BRICS member countries and lays the groundwork for more robust, transparent, and policy-relevant official statistics. The joint statement is available at the provided URL for detailed reference.