National Statistics Day: Theme, History, Celebration & Significance

National Statistics Day: The day is observed on 29 June to popularise the use of Statistics in everyday life. The day commemorates the birth anniversary of Prof. P C Mahalanobis. Let us have a look in detail at the day, theme, history and significance.

National Statistics Day makes people understand how Statistics help in shaping and framing the policies. Due to COVID-19 pandemic this year also the main event of the Day is being organized through Video Conferencing/ Webcasting at NITI Aayog, New Delhi.

The Chief Guest of the event is Rao Inderjit Singh, Hon’ble Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) of Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) and Ministry of Planning.

National Statistics Day: Theme

National Statistics Day: History

The Government of India decided to celebrate National Statistics Day on the outstanding contribution made by Late Professor Prasanta Chandra Mahalanobis in the field of economic planning and statistics and therefore National Statistics Day mark his birth anniversary. Notification to this effect was published in the Gazette of India on June 05, 2007.

National Statistics Day: Celebration

The National Statistics Day event will be chaired by the Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) of Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation and Ministry of Planning, Rao Inderjit Singh. He is the Chief Guest. Prof. Bimal Kumar Roy, Chairman, National Statistical Commission (NSC); Dr. G. P. Samanta, Chief Statistician of India & Secretary, MoSPI; Prof. Sanghamitra Bandyopadhyay, Director, Indian Statistical Institute; Mr. Pietro Gennari, Chief Statistician, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations; Ms. Renata Lok-Dessallien, UN Resident Coordinator, is also scheduled to address the participants on the occasion.

Significance of National Statistics Day Celebrations:

The annual celebration of National Statistics Day holds immense significance for several reasons as listed below:

About Professor Prasanta Chandra Mahalanobis:

Professor Prasanta Chandra Mahalanobis or P. C. Mahalanobis was born on 29 June, 1893, Calcutta (now Kolkata), India. He died on 28 June, 1972 in Calcutta. He was an Indian statistician. He devised the Mahalanobis distance and in the Second Five-Year Plan, he was instrumental in formulating India’s strategy for industrialisation. He established the Indian Statistical Institute in Calcutta on 17 December, 1931.

He also devised a measure of comparison between two data sets and now it is known as the Mahalanobis distance. He invented techniques for conducting large-scale sample surveys and calculated acreages and crop yields by using a method of random sampling. He also generated a statistical method known as fractile graphical analysis to compare the socioeconomic conditions of different groups of people. For flood control, he also applied statistics to economic planning.

No doubt, it is expected that the event will raise awareness in people mainly among the younger generation, about the role of Statistics in socio-economic planning and policy formulation.

Ministry launches eSankhyiki portal for easy access of data

Based on the updated Sustainable Development Goals – National Indicator Framework (SDGs- NIF), every year MoSPI releases the Progress Report on SDGs with time series data on Statistics Day

30 June, 2024: In recognition of the notable contributions made by Professor (late) Prasanta Chandra Mahalanobis in the fields of statistics and economic planning, Government of India has designated June 29 every year, coinciding with his birth anniversary, as “Statistics Day” in the category of Special Days to be celebrated at the national level. The main objective of celebrating Statistics Day is creation of public awareness, especially among the younger generation, on the role and importance of statistics in socio-economic planning and policy formulation for development of the country.

Since 2007, Statistics Day is celebrated every year with a theme of contemporary national importance. The theme for Statistics Day, 2024 is “Use of data for decision-making”. The concept of data driven decision making is important for making informed decisions in any field, and it is one of the pre-requisites for better understanding of statistical information, emanating from official statistics and for facilitating evidence-based decision making.

The main event of Statistics Day, 2024 was organized at Manekshaw Centre, Delhi Cantt., New Delhi. The Chief Guest, Dr. Arvind Panagariya, Chairman, 16th Finance Commission addressed the gathering. He narrated the role played by Prof. P.C.Mahalanobis in shaping the Indian Statistical System. He also urged that India should continue its data driven policy making in order to move along its development trajectory.

Prof. Rajeeva Laxman Karandikar, Chairman, National Statistical Commission and Dr. Saurabh Garg, Secretary, MoSPI also addressed the participants on this occasion. Chairman, NSC, emphasized the need to make the data more accessible and usable, and suggested that Ministry’s efforts on leveraging Information Technology for producing data needs to continue. He also stressed upon the need of the interoperability and linking of databases generated by various agencies through coordination among stakeholders. Secretary, MoSPI while addressing the audience highlighted the recent initiatives of the Ministry for reducing time-lag in survey data like Computer-Aided Personal Interview (CAPI), new surveys, user engagement exercise and the newly launched eSankhyiki portal. He hoped the spirit of Statistics Day will continue to inspire the statistical personnel and planners for data driven decision making.

Senior officers of Central Ministries/Departments, State/UT Governments, representatives of international organizations viz. UN agencies, World Bank, etc. and other stakeholders also participated in the event. The event was also web-cast/live streamed through the social media handles of the Ministry. On this occasion, the winners of ‘On the Spot Essay Writing Competition, 2024’ for Post- Graduate Students were also felicitated.

During the technical session, Dr. Ajay Kumar, ex-Secretary, Ministry of Defence, Government of India, addressed the gathering on the importance of data in governance. He highlighted the importance of data in the dynamically changing digital age and the increasing role and scope of MoSPI. This was followed by a presentation on global experience of using data for decision making by Mr. Luis Felipe Lopez-Calva, Global Director for the World Bank Group’s poverty and equity global practice.  He emphasized that data is an essential infrastructure for effective policy making, while sharing prevalent global practices.

Based on the updated Sustainable Development Goals – National Indicator Framework (SDGs- NIF), every year MoSPI releases the Progress Report on SDGs with time series data on Statistics Day (i.e., on 29th June) along with two handbooks which are derived from the progress report. Accordingly, following three reports were released during the event:

1. Sustainable Development Goals – National Indicator Framework Progress Report, 2024’
2. ‘Data Snapshot on Sustainable Development Goals- National Indicator Framework, 2024’
3. ‘Sustainable Development Goals- National Indicator Framework, 2024’

These reports can be accessed at the MoSPI’s website (www.mospi.gov.in). The time series data on the SDG indicators are downloadable in MS excel format from the report.

The Ministry launched an eSankhyiki portal with the objective to establish a comprehensive data management and sharing system for ease of dissemination of official statistics in the country. The portal can also be accessed through the website of MoSPI. It is to provide timely inputs for planners, policy-makers, researchers and the public at large. The eSankhyiki Portal has two sections facilitating easy access and re-use of data, namely:

1. Data Catalogue: The catalogue lists the major data assets of the Ministry such as National Accounts Statistics, Consumer Price Index, Index of Industrial Production, Annual Survey of Industries, Periodic Labour Force Survey and Household Consumption Expenditure Survey at one place.
2. Macro Indicators: It offers time series data of key macro indicators with features for filtering and visualization. It also allows users to download custom datasets, visualizations and accessing them through APIs, thereby increasing the re-usability of data. At present, this section includes four major products of MoSPI: National Accounts Statistics, Consumer Price Index, Index of Industrial Production, and Annual Survey of Industries, encompassing the data of last ten years.