Short Update
Cabinet approves VISTAR with ₹4,371.10 crore outlay
Union Cabinet approved VISTAR, the Viksit Bharat Initiative for Statistical Transformation, Analytics & Research, on 4 November 2026, with an outlay of ₹4,371.10 crore for five years, FY 2026-27 to FY 2030-31. Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) will run it as a Central Sector Scheme.
MoSPI proposes 59 surveys during the 16th Finance Commission cycle, compared with 43 major surveys previously. The scheme also covers the 8th Economic Census with States and Union Territories and financial and technical support to them under Support for Statistical Strengthening (SSS 2.0).