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National Statistics Day: Every year 29 June is celebrated as National Statistics Day. It is celebrated in the memory of Indian statistician Prof. Prasanta Chandra Mahalanobis. On this day, various programs and conferences are organized across the country, in which the importance of statistics is explained.
Who was Prof Prasanta Chandra Mahalanobis?
Professor Prasanta Chandra Mahalanobis is considered the father of Indian statistics. National Statistics Day is celebrated across the country to commemorate his birth anniversary. Mahalanobis was born on 29 June 1893 in Kolkata. He was a famous Indian mathematician and statistician.
At Presidency College of the University of Calcutta, he studied under professors such as Jagadish Chandra Bose and Prafulla Chandra Ray. After earning a bachelor's degree in physics, he moved to England for higher education and began his studies at King's College, Cambridge. There Mahalanobis met the great Indian mathematician Srinivasa Ramanujan.
The professor founded the Indian Statistical Institute. Apart from this, he made many important contributions in the field of statistics such as Mahalanobis distance, sample survey, statistical methods for economic planning.
Establishment of Indian Statistical Institute
According to a report, during the First World War, PC Mahalanobis was returning from Cambridge to Calcutta when he came across the statistics journal 'Biometrika' and became interested in it. He was so impressed with these biometrics that he brought the entire set to India. Mahalanobis then became more interested in statistics, which led to the creation of an informal statistical laboratory. He also formally registered the establishment of the Indian Statistical Institute in April 1932.
Nehru was also influenced by Mahalanobis' policies
When the country got independence from the British, the first Prime Minister Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru appointed PC Mahalanobis as the statistical advisor of the Union Cabinet and also a member of the first Planning Commission of independent India. At that time, the biggest problem before Pandit Nehru was to set the country's economy in motion. Meanwhile, taking inspiration from the Soviet Union, it was decided to start a five-year plan. For this, it was necessary to have accurate and detailed information about the economy of that time.
Therefore, the National Sample Survey was established in 1950. So that data on every aspect of the economic life of citizens could be obtained. But at that time it was not possible to collect data by going door to door across the country. Therefore, it was decided to collect data by sampling and its responsibility was given to PC Mahalanobis.
Significance of National Statistics Day
The main objective of celebrating National Statistics Day is to create awareness among people about the importance of statistics. Statistics plays an important role in every aspect of people's lives, be it education, health, economy or social development. It helps in collecting, analyzing and interpreting data, which is necessary to make better decisions and policies. National Statistics Day is celebrated for this purpose.
What is the theme of National Statistics Day 2024?
The theme of National Statistics Day in 2024 is 'Using Data for Decision Making'. The theme was about the growing importance of data and how it can be used to make better decisions.