NEW DELHI: India’s statistics secretary on Thursday called for stronger data integrity and early field leadership as probationers from three batches of the Indian Statistical Service (ISS) met for a training review.
Addressing officers at the National Statistical Systems Training Academy (NSSTA), Saurabh Garg, secretary of the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI), underscored a policy shift placing young officers in field roles early in their careers to improve data quality and institutional capacity.
He said the move, introduced with the 2023 batch, would see about 90 of 120 Sub-Regional Offices under the Field Operations Division of the National Statistics Office (NSO) led by young officers with the induction of the 2025 batch, signaling a push toward decentralized leadership and stronger primary data systems.
The review covered the 2024 batch, which has completed probation including six months of field postings, the 2025 batch preparing for field deployment, and the newly inducted 2026 batch.
Officials said the revamped training emphasizes field-based learning, project work and advanced technologies. Trainees from the 2024 and 2025 batches shared feedback on field coordination, survey execution and administrative improvements at the district level.
Additional Secretary Puja Singh Mondal welcomed the new batch and encouraged officers to play a key role in strengthening India’s statistical system.
In a separate session, R. Balasubramaniam of the Capacity Building Commission spoke on ethical leadership, highlighting integrity, accountability and citizen-focused governance as core values for public service.
