Patna, Oct. 20: Of the 22,272 non-profit institutions (NPIs) registered in Bihar, 18,578 have been found either non-existent or defunct, a Central Statistical Organisation survey has revealed.

“All 22,272 listed societies were visited during two phases of the survey. Of these, 3,694 societies were traced from which employment and financial data could be obtained,” said the ‘Report on Non-Profit Institutions in Bihar’, which was released on Saturday by planning and development minister Narendra Narayan Yadav on World Statistics Day in Patna.

Stressing the role of statistics, Yadav said the report would help people know about the status of various NGOs and their activities.

Central Statistical Organisation, the apex agency of all statistical activities in India, had launched the survey in April 2008 on NPIs, popularly known as NGOs, to collect data on output, employment and financial parameters.

In the first phase, manual records on societies available with the registering authorities were digitised. The process continued till 2010. The second phase was about finding the status of societies — functional or defunct, and collecting information on the activities, employment and financial details of the organisations. The directorate of economics and statistics under the planning and development department also took part in the survey.

Speaking on the occasion, principal secretary (planning and development) Vijoy Prakash expressed concerns over various aspects of NGOs that included centralisation of the NPIs in and around the state capital and less participation of women in NPI’s management and others.

Emphasising on a greater need for partnership between the government and the voluntary sector for development of society, Prakash said the government has prepared a policy draft on NGO, which would soon be sent to the cabinet for approval.