Vice President of India, M Venkaiah Naidu released a commemorative coin of Rs 125 and circulation coin of Rs 5 denomination as a mark of respect to Professor P. C. Mahalanobis on the closing ceremony of his 125th Birth Anniversary at Indian Statistical Institute, Kolkata.Ministry of Statistics & Programme Implementation and Indian Statistical Institute (ISI) jointly celebrated 12th Statistics Day and the closing ceremony of the 125th Birth Anniversary of Prof. P. C. Mahalanobis on 29th June, 2018 at Kolkata.Shri M. Venkaiah Naidu, Vice President of India graced the occasion as the Chief Guest. Other dignitaries who participated in the event include Shri D. V. Sadananda Gowda, Union Minister for Statistics & Programme Implementation, Prof. Bratya Basu, Minister of Information Technology and Electronics, Government of West Bengal, Dr. Vijay Kelkar, President, ISI and Prof. Goverdhan Mehta, Chairman, ISI Council.In recognition of the notable contributions made by Late Professor Prasanta Chandra Mahalanobis in the fields of statistics, statistical system and economic planning, Government of India in 2007, has designated 29thJune as the “Statistics Day” in the category of Special Days to be celebrated every year at the National level
On the occasion, Vice President of India released a commemorative coin of Rs 125 and circulation coin of Rs 5 denomination as a mark of respect to Prof. Mahalanobis. The winners of Prof. P.V. Sukhatme Award 2018 and Prof. C.R. Rao Award 2017, were also felicitated for their notable contribution in the field of Statistics.The objective of celebration of this Day is to create public awareness about the importance of statistics in socio-economic planning and policy formulation, to acknowledge the contribution of Prof. Mahalanobis, and to pay homage to him. Every year, one particular theme of current national importance is selected for focused discussions and efforts throughout the year aimed at bringing about improvements in the selected area. The theme selected for the Statistics Day this year is ‘‘Quality Assurance in Official Statistics’. The theme has been chosen to underscore the importance of compliance with essential parameters of quality in statistical systems and products.The Indian Statistical Institute (ISI) at Kolkata, set up by Prof. Mahalanobis in 1931, and was declared an autonomous “Institute of National Importance” through an act of Parliament in 1959, celebrates 29th June as the “Worker Day”. 29th June, 2017 marked the beginning of the 125th year of birth of Prof. P.C. Mahalanobis. ISI has held year-round celebrations.Statistics Day Celebrations held throughout the country by the field offices of National Sample Survey Office, State Governments and Universities/Departments by organizing Seminars, Conferences, Debates, Quiz Programmes, Lectures, Essay Competitions, etc.