In News:

MoSPI celebrates 19th Statistics Day honouring Prof. P.C. Mahalanobis and 75 years of National Sample Survey.

Key Highlights:

June 29 is observed as National Statistics Day in India to commemorate the birth anniversary of Prof. Prasanta Chandra Mahalanobis (1893–1972), widely regarded as the Father of Indian Statistics. The 2025 theme is "75 Years of National Sample Survey (NSS)".

The day is dedicated to promoting the role of statistics in nation-building and policy formulation, especially among the youth.

Key Contributions of P.C. Mahalanobis

1. Architect of India’s National Sample Survey (NSS)

• In 1950, Prof. Mahalanobis pioneered the National Sample Survey, India's first scientific and large-scale household data collection system.
• NSS is a large-scale, nationwide socio-economic data collection initiative conducted by the National Sample Survey Office (NSSO) under the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI).
• Key Objectives of the NSS: Generate high-quality data to inform public policy, planning, and developmental programs.Conduct household surveys on:

• Consumption expenditure
• Employment & unemployment
• Health and education
• Migration and the informal sector
• Undertake the Annual Survey of Industries (ASI) to evaluate industrial performance.
• Support the agricultural sector by supervising crop area and yield estimation.
• Provide price statistics for rural and urban India to monitor inflation and cost-of-living changes.

• Key Features of the NSS
  • All-India Scientific Coverage: Surveys conducted in both rural and urban areas using stratified multi-stage sampling methods.
• Organizational Structure – Four Major Divisions

Division                                                                                              Function

Survey Design & Research Division (SDRD)            Survey planning, design, and methodology (HQ: Kolkata)

Field Operations Division (FOD)                                        Data collection via 170+ regional offices (HQ: Delhi/Faridabad)

Data Processing Division (DPD)                                        Data validation, tabulation, processing for surveys like PLFS & ASI

Survey Coordination Division (SCD)                             Coordinates survey activities and publishes Sarvekshana journal

• Multi-Thematic and Integrated Surveys

• Consumption patterns
• Employment trends (via Periodic Labour Force Survey - PLFS)
• Health and morbidity
• Education, migration, and social welfare indicators

• Support for Agriculture and Industry: Strengthens crop statistics and supports the ASI Web Portal for industrial data validation.
• Digital Integration & Real-Time Processing:Modernization efforts include urban sampling frame maintenance, tablet-based data collection, and real-time monitoring tools.

2. Mahalanobis Distance (1936)

• A multivariate statistical measure used to identify outliers and data anomalies.
• It quantifies the distance of a data point from a distribution, factoring in correlations between variables.
• Widely applied in fields such as public health, market research, and machine learning.

3. Flood Control and Environmental Planning

• In the 1920s, Mahalanobis used historical data to guide flood mitigation in Bengal and Odisha.
• His studies disproved incorrect assumptions (e.g., rising river beds) and recommended drainage improvements and dam construction.
• His early estimates contributed to the Hirakud Hydroelectric Project, inaugurated in 1957.

4. Institution Building: Founder of ISI & Sankhya Journal

• Founded the Indian Statistical Institute (ISI) in Kolkata in 1931, a premier research institute for statistics and mathematics.
• Launched ‘Sankhya’, India’s first statistical journal, fostering academic and applied research.

5. Role in National Planning & Technology Advocacy

• Chief architect of the Second Five-Year Plan, which introduced the Mahalanobis Model — emphasizing heavy industries and public sector-led growth.
• Advocated for digital computing in India. However, during the Cold War, the U.S. denied India access to the UNIVAC computer, fearing Mahalanobis’s pro-Soviet leanings.

Biographical Snapshot

Attribute                                            Details

Born                                                      29 June 1893, Kolkata (then Calcutta)

Education                                          Presidency College; King's College, Cambridge

Field                                                       Statistics, Economic Planning, Data Science

Key Institutions                             Indian Statistical Institute (ISI), NSS, Planning Commission

Died                                                        28 June 1972