India celebrates June 29th as the National Statistics Day to recognise the contribution of statistics in daily life and to educate the general public on the importance of statistics in socio-economic planning and policy formulation. The first National Statistics Day was celebrated on 29th June 2007.
The theme of 2020 National Statistics Day is “SDG- 3 (Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages) & SDG- 5 (Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls)”.
Background:
June 29th is chosen to celebrate the National Statistics Day to commemorate the birth anniversary of Prof. Prasanta Chandra Mahalanobis, who established the National Statistical System, founder of Indian Statistical Institute (ISI) and contributed to the field of economic planning and statistical development of India.
Prof. Prasanta Chandra Mahalanobis:
i.He was known as “Father of Indian Statistics”
ii.He was born on 29th June 1893.
iii.He was awarded the Padma Vibhushan in 1968 for his contribution to science and services.
Note:
Due to Covid 19 pandemic, it is decided that the events and celebration of 2020 National Statistics day will be conducted over a virtual platform.
2020 Events:
i.The updated Report on Sustainable Development Goals-National Indicator Framework (NIF) Progress Report 2020 (version 2.1) will be released during the virtual event.
ii.The Ministry will launch The Indian Statistical Services Cadre Management Portal during the event.
iii.The winner of the all India level “On the spot essay writing competitions, 2020” conducted for the Post Graduate students will be announced in the event.
Key People:
The 2020 virtual events are chaired by Rao Inderjit Singh, Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) of Ministry of Statistics and Program Implementation in the presence of Dr. Bibek Debroy – President, Council of Indian Statistical Institute and the Chairman, Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister and Pravin Srivastava – Chief Statistician of India-cum-Secretary to the Ministry of Statistics and Program Implementation and other officials.
Prof. P.C. Mahalanobis National Award:
Ministry of Statistics and Program Implementation instituted the Prof. P.C. Mahalanobis National Award in 2019 to recognise the outstanding achievements of official statisticians in the Central Government.
Other awards:
Prof. C. R. Rao and Prof. P. V. Sukhatme awards are awarded in the alternate years to recognise contribution of research works in applied and theoretical statistics to the statistical system.
About ISI:
Director– Sanghamitra Bandyopadhyay
Headquarters– Kolkata, West Bengal
