29 June: National Statistics Day

The National Statistics Day is being observed every year on 29 June to create public awareness among people about the importance of statistics in daily life and in the process of planning and development. 2016 is the tenth edition of National Statistics Day.
Significance of the Day: It is celebrated annually on the occasion of Birth anniversary of India’s eminent statistician Late Prof Prasanta Chandra Mahalanobis. It also commemorates the contributions made by PC Mahalanobis in the fields of statistics and economic planning.
2016 Theme: “Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare”. The Union Ministry of Statistics Programme Implementation had organised main function for the celebration day at Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi.

About PC Mahalanobis

• Born on 29 June 1893 in Kolkata. Died on 28 June 1972 in Kolkata.
• He was the first Indian statistician to receive world recognition. In 1933, he had founded the first Indian statistical journal Sankhya.
• He founded the Indian Statistical Institute (ISI), and contributed to the design of large-scale sample surveys.
• He had made pioneering studies in anthropometry in India. He is also best remembered for the statistical measure Mahalanobis distance.
• He was also a member of the Planning Commission (PC) from 1955 to 1967. The Second Five-Year Plan had relied on Mahalanobis’s mathematical description of Indian economy.
• This plan had encouraged the development of heavy industry in India and later became known as the Mahalanobis model or Basic Industry strategy of economic growth.

Month: Current Affairs - June, 2016