RBI Governor cautious against cherry-picking of data by experts

Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Shaktikanta Das has cautioned against cherry-picking of data by experts, saying correlations can conveniently be used to establish "spurious causality" to achieve desired results.

He was speaking at the RBI's 13th Annual Conference yesterday. The theme of the conference is 'Statistics for the Future - Select Issues.  In his



inaugural address, Mr Das said that in an era of the internet and social media, there is no substitute for rigorous statistical testing for establishing empirical regularities. 

He said the central bank will continue to refine methodologies and use cutting edge techniques for forecasting of macroeconomic developments.