The state statistical agency lags behind in delivering necessary data over time amid manpower shortages, officials have said.
Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) officials said this at the inauguration of the Survey of Manufacturing Industries (SMI)-2018 on Saturday.
The industries and labour wing of the bureau organised the event in BBS Auditorium in the capital with BBS director general Dr Krishna Gayen in the chair.
The SMI-2018 officially began with three-day training for district and sub-district officials to do the survey at 8,500 sample manufacturing units.
The officials have a target to complete the interviewing within April and key findings might be made public in mid-May.
The last such survey was conducted in 2012.
Md Abul Hossain, additional secretary (admin) for statistics and information management division under planning ministry, spoke as the chief guest.
He recognised that the government often hesitates to take any project or programme for lack of updated data on manufacturing industries.
Mr Hossain said such survey on manufacturing, other sectors and sub-sectors should be random to get updated information on the country's economic development.
The ongoing survey might help get ownership status, gender-based employment condition, intermediate consumption, value of fixed assets, gross output and other information about the sector.
All these are inevitable aspects for calculating the country's gross domestic product (GDP), he observed.
The total number of industrial units, including micro, small, medium and big enterprises might be more than 0.101 million now, Mr Hossain predicted.
The SMI-2012 showed 0.046 million units of such industries.
"But we think the number of big industries has not increased very much," Mr Hossain cited.
Meanwhile, Dr Gayen said they could not conduct basic surveys and censuses on time for a lack of manpower.
The ongoing survey should have to be conducted taking into account the 'Industrial Policy 2016', she added.
"But we couldn't do it as we're following the Economic Census 2013 as the frame and it was conducted based on the industrial policy."
Dr Gayen said, "We could follow the 2016 Industrial Policy if we had the latest economic census."
Three-day training could help officials enter a factory and get accurate information, she mentioned.
"We'll also ask the district administration so statistical huntsmen can get their help in any odd situation," the BBS chief said.
Industries and labour wing director Ghose Subobrata delivered a speech of welcome at the event coordinated by SMI-2018 focal point officer Lizen Shah Nayeem.
Mr Subobrata said, "To cover all types of manufacturing industries, the survey will also be conducted based on updated business register of the sector in fiscal year 2017-18."
Mr Nayeem said manufacturing industries contribute 22.8 per cent to the GDP and 14.4 per cent to employment generation.
The manufacturing factories have been categorised as large, medium, small and micro-industries based on the number of workers they employ, he added.
According to the industrial policy, the industries with 10 or more labourers are micro and those with 25 to 99 workers are small ones.
The industries with 100 to 250 workers are medium and those with more than 250 workers are large factories.
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