Find the right table
Sarani means a table. It is a guide to 240+ sources of Indian public data, and for each one it tells you what it holds, what it is good for, where it can mislead you and where it stands today.
Entries are updated as of October 2026. Details shift, so check the source before you cite a number.
The catalogue
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Six ways in
Most people arrive with a question, not a dataset name. Pick the one closest to yours.
What has changed
If your last close look at Indian statistics was a year ago, these four shifts matter most.
India's headline numbers were rebuilt
GDP and industrial production moved to a 2022-23 base and consumer prices to 2024=100 during 2026. New figures cannot be joined to the old series until the official back series is out, which was expected by December 2026. See the entry for National accounts.
Census 2027 is under way
Houselisting ran from April to September 2026. Population enumeration, including caste for the first time since 1931, is set for February 2027. Detailed tables will take much longer. See the entry for Census 2027.
Household income is being measured for the first time
The National Household Income Survey went to field in April 2026, with results expected around mid-2027. Until then there is no official income figure to cite. See the entry for Income survey.
Electoral rolls are being rebuilt
The Special Intensive Revision is running state by state through 2026. Changes in registered voters over this period reflect the revision itself. See the entry for Election data.
Made to be read as well as searched
The part other lists leave out
Each source carries a note called Read this before you cite it: the definition, gap or quirk that most often trips people up. That note is why Sarani exists.
Useful before large
A source is listed if people working in public policy and social impact in India would actually reach for it, and if it publishes data rather than only reports. No publisher pays to be listed.
Tell us what we got wrong
Every entry has a Report a problem link. Send a dead link, a missing source or a caveat that has gone out of date, and it goes into the next update.
Write to usFree to use and share with credit to Public Policy India and STRIDE. The full catalogue is available as one file. Rights in the data itself rest with each publisher.