National Statics Day : 29th June

29/06/2023

Table of Contents

29^th June: National Statics Day

India celebrates National Statistics Day on June 29 every year to distinguish the contributions of PC Mahanalobis. As India celebrates National Statics Day on 29 June, UN celebrates World Statistics Day on October 20 every 5 years.

History:

Indian government had decided to celebrate 29th June as National Statistics Day in realization of the contributions made by Prasanta Chandra Mahalanobis in the fields of statistics and economic planning on June 5, 2007.

The National Statistics Day had been celebrated first time in 2007 and it has been celebrated from 2007.

Professor Mahalanobis served in the first planning commission of India and implemented the establishment of the Indian Statistical Institute (ISI) in 1931.

Prasanta Chandra Mahalanobis:

Born: 28 June 1893

PC Mahalanobis is the founder of the Indian Statistical Institute (ISI).

He also established the National sample survey (NSS) in 1950 and the central statistical organisation to coordinate statistical activities.

He served as a member of the Planning Commission from 1955 to 1967.

He introduced the very famous and most helpful concept of ‘Mahalanobis distance,’ that measure the distance between two points in a multivariate space.

During India’s second five-year plan, Mahalanobis introduced innovative techniques such as fractal graphical analysis to compare the socio-economic conditions of diverse groups.

Theme:

The theme of National Statistics Day 2023 is ‘Alignment of state indicator framework with national indicator framework for monitoring Sustainable Development Goals’.

Importance of celebration:

The significance of Statistics Day is to aware public and mostly to the young generation about the role and importance of statistics in strategizing, economic planning and policy formulation.

The celebration of National Statistics day gives us an opportunity to learn from the achievements of Professor Mahalanobis in the field of statistics.

Celebration:

The national level celebration event has been held at the Scope Convention Centre, Scope Complex, Lodhi Road in New Delhi.

Union Minister of State for the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation, Rao Inderjit Singh has been invited as the Chief Guest of the event.

Honours and recognition:

The Government of India honored him with country’s second highest civilian award Padma Vibhusan in 1968.

He earned Srinivasa Ramanujan Gold Medal in 1968.

He was honorary fellow of King’s College, Cambridge

In 2018, M Venkaiah Naidu, then vice president of India had released a commemorative coin on the occasion of 125^thbirth anniversary of PC Mahalanobis.