NEW DELHI: The Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) on Sunday celebrated the 19th Statistics Day to honor the 132nd birth anniversary of Prof. Prasanta Chandra Mahalanobis, a pioneer of modern statistics in India, and to mark 75 years of the National Sample Survey (NSS).
Held at the Dr. Ambedkar International Centre, the event brought together senior government officials, statisticians, academics, and international partners to reflect on India’s statistical journey and the modernization of data systems for the future.
Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) Rao Inderjit Singh paid tribute to Prof. Mahalanobis and highlighted the dual significance of the occasion—the birth anniversary and the platinum jubilee of NSS. He emphasized the growing importance of real-time data systems, technology-led reforms, and transparent, inclusive approaches to statistical governance. The minister urged the statistical community to continue supporting the transformation of the National Statistical Office (NSO) into a globally benchmarked institution.
MoSPI Secretary Dr. Saurabh Garg reflected on the evolution of the NSS since its inception in 1950. He highlighted key reforms including faster data publication, adoption of Computer-Assisted Personal Interviewing (CAPI), integration of administrative data, and improved public access to official data through the eSankhyiki portal. He also announced the launch of the GoIStat mobile app, designed to increase accessibility to government statistics.
Dr. R. L. Karandikar, Chairman of the National Statistical Commission, praised MoSPI’s modernization efforts and noted that statistical tools could be extended to areas such as normalization of scores in online exams and validation of online voting systems to strengthen public trust.
To mark the 75-year legacy of the NSS, MoSPI released a commemorative coin and postage stamp, along with key publications including the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG)
National Indicator Framework Progress Report 2025 and the NSS Report on Nutritional Intake in India for 2022-23 and 2023-24.
The Prof. C.R. Rao National Award for 2025 in Statistics was conferred on Dr. Prajamitra Bhuyan, Assistant Professor at IIM Calcutta, for his outstanding contributions to the field. Winners of the Data Visualization Hackathon were also recognized.
A panel discussion moderated by Dr. Shamika Ravi, Member of the Prime Minister’s Economic Advisory Council, brought together experts from the public and private sectors to explore the role of frontier technologies in official statistics. The discussion covered challenges and opportunities in adopting artificial intelligence, machine learning, and big data analytics to enhance the statistical system’s responsiveness and quality.
The event concluded with a call to reaffirm the value of statistics in nation-building and to align India’s statistical infrastructure with the broader vision of Viksit Bharat by 2047.
All reports and resources released during the event are available at www.mospi.gov.in, and the GoIStat app is now live on the Google Play Store.
