Recognising the contributions of late Professor Prasanta Chandra Mahalanobis in statistics and economic planning, the Government of India designated to celebrate the birth anniversary, 29 June, as National Statistics Day. By marking this day, the government aims to create public awareness, especially among the young generation, so that they can get inspired by the life and works of Prof. Mahalanobis. This day will help promote the significance and position of statistics in socio-economic planning and policy making. Professor Mahalanobis is the founder of the Indian Statistical Institute (ISI).
World Statistics Day is celebrated on 20 October across the globe every five years.
First celebrated in 2007, a notification for which was first published in the Gazette of India on 25 June 2007. The Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MOSPI) organises various seminars, discussions, and competitions to highlight the importance of statistics in national development. The main event is attended by ministers, statisticians, and other important dignitaries.
This year’s theme for the day is ‘Data for Sustainable Development,’ coinciding with the yearly theme of contemporary national importance. The event would follow a physical-cum-virtual mode.
MOSPI acknowledges the excellent contribution in applied and theoretical statistics through high-quality research benefiting the official statistical system through awards initiated for this purpose. The winner of this year’s Prof. P.C. Mahalanobis National Award in Official Statistics, 2022 and Prof. P.V. Sukhatme national Award for lifetime contribution in the area of statistics, 2022, will be announced during the ceremony.
‘On the Spot Essay Writing Competition, 2022’ winners on the theme of Statistics day for Post Graduate Students will be commended.
The officers of the Ministry will also make a brief presentation on the theme during the event. Further, the event would follow experts from international agencies to address the attendees.
Professor Prasanta Chandra Mahalanobis was a statistician and scientist known for contributing to Indian statistics. A recipient of ‘Padma Vibhushan’, Prof. PC Mahalanobis is known for ‘Mahalanobis distance’, a statistical formula introduced by him in 1936. Mahalanobis distance is a common chemical formula used to measure the distance between a point and a distribution based on multiple dimension measurements.
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