Recognizing the importance of Statistics in day-to-day life and to popularize its use, the Government of India has been celebrating birth Anniversary of the legendary Statistician, late Prof. P. C. Mahalanobis, on 29^th June, as “Statistics Day”.

Due to the prevailing Covid-19 pandemic, the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) celebrated Statistics Day, 2021 in virtual mode, through video conferencing. The event was also live streamed through various social media platforms of the Ministry. The theme selected for the “Statistics Day” 2021 was Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) - 2 (End Hunger, Achieve Food Security and Improved Nutrition and Promote Sustainable Agriculture).

 Minister of State (Independent Charge), Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) and Ministry of Planning, Rao Inderjit Singh graced the occasion as Chief Guest of the event and addressed the participants through virtual mode.  Prof. Bimal Kumar Roy, Chairman, National Statistical Commission (NSC), Dr. G. P. Samanta, Chief Statistician of India & Secretary, MoSPI, Prof. Sanghamitra Bandyopadhyay, Director, Indian Statistical Institute also addressed the audience. The representatives of international agencies namely, Mr. Pietro Gennari, Chief Statistician, Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations; Ms. Renata Lok-Dessallien, UN Resident Coordinator, conveyed their message on the occasion. Senior officers of Central/ State/UT Governments, representatives of various National and International agencies etc., also joined the event.

During the event, the winners of the National awards instituted by the Ministry were announced and they were felicitated virtually. Prof. P. C. Mahalanobis National Award in Official Statistics-2021for the lifetime achievements was conferred upon Dr. R. B. Barman, Former Chairman, National Statistical Commission.  Prof. P. C. Mahalanobis National Award in Official Statistics-2021 in the category of in-service Official Statistician above 45 years of age, was conferred upon Dr. Sitabhra Sinha, Professor, Institute of Mathematical Sciences, Chennai. Prof. C.R. Rao National Award in Statistics for Young Statisticians-2021 was given to Dr. Kiranmoy Das, Associate Professor, Indian Statistical Institute, Kolkata. The winners of these National Awards also expressed their views during the occasion. The winners of ‘On the Spot Essay Writing Competition’ for Post-Graduate Students on the subject relevant to Statistics as organized by the Ministry at All India level were also felicitated during the event virtually.

A brief presentation was also made by the Ministry on the theme of the Statistics Day.  Further, as a part of celebrations of Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav, an initiative of the Government, Ministry also released Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) - National Indicator Framework (NIF)-Version 3.1, NIF Progress Report 2021, and Data Snapshot on SDGs’ NIF Progress Report 2021 (Version 3.1).  

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DS/VJ