RBI to set up Data Sciences Lab to improve surveillance, early warning detection abilities

Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in its release on Thursday said that it has decided to set up Data Sciences Lab to improve its forecasting, surveillance and early warning detection abilities which will aid policy formulation. In a statement, the central bank has decided to gainfully harness the power of Big Data analytics by setting up a Data Sciences Lab in-house. The lab will constitute of experts and budding analysts, internal as well as lateral, who are trained inter alia in Computer Science, Data Analytics, Statistics, Economics, Econometrics and/or Finance. 

The release says policy making not only benefits from data collected through regulatory returns and surveys but also from large volumes of structured and unstructured real-time information. RBI said the lab will comprise experts and budding analysts, who are trained in Computer Science, Data Analytics, Statistics, Economics, Econometrics and Finance. The unit is likely to become operational by December 2018.

Need for a Data Sciences Lab 
The release said it is critical for a full-service central bank, like the RBI, with diverse responsibilities to employ relevant data and apply the right filters for improving its forecasting, nowcasting, surveillance and early-warning detection abilities that all aid policy formulation.