The Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh has stressed
the role of statistics as the country progresses in
the path of development towards becoming a knowledge
economy, and as we integrate with the international
economic order.
In his address after inaugurating the Statistics Day
celebrations, here today, he pointed out that in such
a situation, the hallmark of a country's reputation
will be the credibility and transparency of its
statistical system. Referring to the National
Statistical Commission set up by the Government last
year towards this end, Dr. Singh observed that two
aspects of its mandate are of particular importance.
"The first is to evolve and lay down national quality
standards in different areas of statistics; and the
second is to exercise statistical coordination between
Ministries, Departments and State Governments", he
added.
The Prime Minister appealed to all concerned to
extend full cooperation to the National Statistical
Commission and to actively seek its assistance in
improving our statistical data bases. Stating that we
should all be proud of our collective heritage in the
field of statistics and resolve to take our country to
the pinnacle of this discipline, Dr. Singh expressed
hope that young statisticians from India will continue
to lead the world in theoretical and applied
statistics, and bring a further sense of pride and
accomplishment to our Nation.
The Prime Minister paid glorious tribute to Late
Prof. P.C. Mahalonobis for his pioneering
contributions in a wide range of areas including
anthropology, educational testing, statistical quality
control, agriculture, flood control, meteorology and
for institution building. Paying homage to the memory
of Professor Mahalanobis, the Minister for Statistics
Shri G.K. Vasan said Professor Mahalanobis is the
builder of modern statistical system in India. His
contributions to the development of statistics as a
science are fundamental and well recognised all over
the world.
The Government of India has declared 29th June of
each year as Statistics Day to be celebrated as a
special day at the national level. Statistics Day is
meant to give recognition to the contribution of
Statistics and of Indian statisticians to the
development of the country. It is being held on 29th
June, the birth anniversary of Professor P.C.
Mahalanobis, the doyen of Indian statistics, to pay
tribute to the multi-faceted contributions of
Professor Mahalanobis; as a scholar and academician,
as an institution builder, and as a pioneer in the
application of statistics to development issues.
In the Technical Session following the Inaugural
Session, Professor Suresh Tendulkar, Chairman,
National Statistical Commission, will deliver a
memorial address, which was followed by a documentary
film on Professor Mahalanobis prepared by the Indian
Statistical Institute.
The key-note address was delivered by Dr. I.P. David,
an internationally reputed statistician from the
Philippines, who is this years winner of the
international Professor Mahalanobis Award. Dr. David
is well-known as an expert on issues of poverty
measurement, among his other qualifications.
Shri G.K. Vasan, MOS, Ministry of Statistics &
Programme Implementation, confered the National Award
in Statistics for Young Statisticians in honour of
Professor C.R. Rao for the year 2006-07 on Dr.
Ayanendranath Basu of ISI, Kolkata. Dr. Basu is not
only a well-known theoretical statistician, he has
also done fundamental work on measuring the spread of
HIV. Dr. Basu will deliver a lecture on this
occasion.
Shri Vasan will also distribute prizes to eleven
post-graduate students who have won the Essay
Competition organized in memory of Professor
Mahalanobis by CSO.
NNK / RK
(Release ID :28888)