The Planning & Development Board, Punjab, has taken steps to ensure easy availability of quality and relevant data to support planning and decision-making in the province, P&D Board member Dr. Muhammad Rizwan Taqi said on Thursday.

Addressing a workshop, which was organized by Punjab Bureau of Statistics and was held at the Punjab Institute of Language Art & Cultural Punjabi Complex, Lahore, he said that third round of Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS) was being conducted in the province, in order to make progress towards the Millennium Development Goals (MDGís) for Education, Health, Water Supply & Sanitation.

Bureau of Statistics director general Shamim Rafique highlighted the importance of the MICS in his welcome address. He said the bureau, with the technical assistance of UNICEF, had undertaken two rounds of MICS in 2003-04 and 2007-08.

He said that the first round had captured data for more than 40 indicators at district level whereas the second round had provided snapshot for more than 70 indicators. The provincial government had approved the conduct of third round of MICS Punjab 2010-11 with the technical and financial assistance of PRS Monitoring Cell (UNDP) & UNICEF,