The Government has been celebrating the Statistics Day, to popularize the use of Statistics in everyday life and sensitize the public as to how Statistics helps in shaping and framing policies. It has been designated as one of the Special Days to be celebrated at the national level and is celebrated on the birth anniversary of Prof. P C Mahalanobis, on 29th June, in recognition of his invaluable contribution in establishing the National Statistical System. 

A series of events have been planned across the country to mark the occasion. The main function will be held on 29^th June, 2019 atVigyanBhawan, New Delhi to be chaired by Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) of Ministry of Statistics and Program Implementation and Ministry of Planning, Rao Inderjit Singh. The event is being jointly organized by the Ministry of Statistics and Program Implementation (MoSPI) andIndian Statistical Institute. Shri BibekDebroy, Chairman, Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Ministerand President, Council of Indian Statistical Institute, Shri Pravin Srivastava, Chief Statistician of India-cum-Secretary, Ministry of Statistics and Program Implementation along with senior officers of Central/ State Governments and other stakeholders will be present on the occasion.

The winner of Prof. C.R. Rao Award 2019 for notable contribution in the field of Statistics will be felicitated during the program. The winners of ‘On the Spot Essay Writing Competition’ for Post Graduate Students on the subject relevant to Statistics organized at All India level will also be felicitated.

Every year, Statistics Day is celebrated with a theme of current national importance,that runs for a year by way of several workshops and seminars, aimed at bringing about improvements in the selected area. The theme of Statistics Day, 2019 is “Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)”. The theme has been chosen for intensive and focused discussions towards filling the data gaps and improvement of timelines/quality in SDGs.

MoSPI is responsible for the development of National Indicator Framework (NIF) for measuring the progress of the SDGs and associated targets at the national level. NIF will give appropriate direction to the policy makers and the implementers of various schemes and programs.

Presentations/ discussions on challenges and way forward for achieving SDGs are being organized by MoSPI. The Baseline Report on SDGs and handbook of National Indicator Framework (NIF) will be released. On the occasion, a few other publications of the Ministry will also be released.

Field offices of National Statistical Office, State Governments and Universities/Departments will be organizing Seminars, Conferences, Debates, Quiz Programs, Lectures, Essay Competitions, etc.to mark the Statistics Day-2019.

In his remarks, Chief Statistician of India&Secretary, Ministry of Statistics and Program Implementation, Pravin Srivastavarecalled the contributions of Prof. P. C. Mahalanobis. He said, “Prof. Mahalnobis is fondly remembered as the Father of Statistical System in the country. He had set up Indian Statistical Institute at Kolkata in 1931 for research and training in Statistics. Central Statistical Organization (CSO) and National Sample Survey Organization (NSSO), the pillars of official statistics, were conceived and envisioned by him.  Celebration of Statistics Day in his memory is a source of inspiration for statisticians of the present day.”

It is expected that these events will raise public awareness especially among the younger generation about the role of Statistics in socio-economic planning and policy formulation. 

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AKT/VJ/SBP