National Statistics Day 2022: National Statistics Day is celebrated every year on 29th June to mark the birth anniversary of Prasanta Chandra Mahalanobis, an Indian scientist and statistician.

Key Points:

• This year, National Statistics Day 2022 marks the 129th birth anniversary of Prof Prasanta Chandra Mahalanobis.
• The Statistics Day 2022 is also being celebrated as a part of a week-long celebration in the Ministry, from June 27 to July 3, in commemoration of Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav (AKAM), an initiative of the Government.

Theme for National Statistics Day 2022:

The theme for this year’s celebration is ‘Data for Sustainable Development’.

The importance of this year's theme:

• The analysis of data is crucial currently in order to draw a conclusion.
• However, in the modern era, there is also a need for sustainable development to maintain a balance between all the variables of life.
• In order to predict and make informed judgments, data analysis is required.
• If used responsibly, new data sources, technology, and analytical methods—such as satellite data—can enable swifter, effective, and evidence-based decision-making, as well as more accurately and fairly gauge progress toward the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
• Additionally, this would help in gaining real-time insights into people’s well-being and  in focusing humanitarian initiatives on vulnerable populations.
• The theme for the celebration would follow intensive and narrowly targeted conversations about filling the data gaps and improving data collection, processing, and dissemination.

Objective:

• Ministry of Statistics and Programme( MOSPI) commemorates National Statistics Day at the National level.
• The main objective behind celebrating Statistics Day is the creation of public awareness, especially among the younger generation, on the role and importance of statistics in socio-economic planning and policy formulation for the development of the country.

Note: The world observes World Statistics Day on October 20, every five years.

History:

• India celebrated the first National Statistics Day on 29th June 2007.
• The Indian Government decided to designate 29th June i.e., the birth date of Prof. P C Mahalanobis as National Statistics Day.
• On June 5th, 2007, the Indian Gazette initially published a notification about this.

National Statistics Day 2022: Significance

• The National Statistics Day is observed to create public awareness, especially in the younger generation to draw inspiration from Professor Mahalanobis about the role and importance of statistics in socio-economic planning and policy formulation.
• The Prof PC Mahalanobis National Award was created by to recognize the outstanding contribution through high-quality research in the field of applied and theoretical statistics benefiting the official statistical system.
• The names of the winners of Prof PC Mahalanobis National Award in Official Statistics are also announced on this day.

About Prof. Prasanta Chandra Mahalanobis:

• Professor Prasanta Chandra Mahalanobis (29 June 1893– 28 June 1972), who was called ‘PCM’ by his colleagues, was a noted Indian scientist and applied statistician.
• He is also known as the Father of Indian Statistics.
• He introduced the Mahalanobis distance, a statistical measure, and random sampling.
• He was also one of the members of the first Planning Commission of India.
• He played a key role in shaping the first 5-year plan.
• He was instrumental in designing the way surveys are conducted today.
• He introduced the concept of pilot surveys and advocated the importance of sampling methods.
• He made pioneering studies in anthropometry in India.
• He also introduced a method for the estimation of crop yields using statistical sampling.
• Prof. Mahalanobis, in 1931 set up the Indian Statistical Institute (ISI) in Kolkata.
• It was declared an autonomous “Institute of National Importance” through an act of Parliament in 1959, and also celebrates June 29 as the “Worker Day”.