New Delhi, June 26 -- The National Statistics Office (NSO) has announced plans to conduct a survey to measure household income (shorturl.at/fYy5w), succinctly summarizing past efforts and announcing the creation of a Technical Expert Group to guide this new survey.

In this context, let us review some of the challenges underlying income measurement in a developing country like India. To grasp the nuances, we need to understand that the economist's conception of terms like 'income' and 'profit' differs markedly from what is in common use.

Also Read: All-India income survey: Let's not miss this opportunity to get it right

When I asked ChatGPT to provide an economist's understanding of these two terms, it gave me this:

"Income is defined ...