On June 29, the birth anniversary of late professor Prasanta Chandra Mahalanobis is observed as National Statistics Day. On this day, PC Mahalanobis also known as Father of Indian Statistics was born in Calcutta, West Bengal in 1893.
He was a member of India’s first planning Commission and received the Padma Vibhushan. One of the key contributions of the ‘father of Indian statistics ’ is known as Mahalanobis distance, a statistical measure. The formula is used to calculate the distance between a point and a distribution based on various dimensions of observations, widely used in the field of cluster analysis and classifications.
He also established the Indian Statistical Institute and helped to design large-scale sample surveys.
This year, the day will be observed by various virtual activities due to the coronavirus situation in India. "This year, due to Covid19 pandemic, the main event of the Statistics Day, 2021 is being organized through Video Conferencing/ Webcasting at NITI Aayog, New Delhi."
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National Statistics Day 2021: Significance
National Statistics day is celebrated annually to honor PC Mahalanobis and his priceless contribution in establishing the National Statsistican System. By observing this day, the government intends to popularize the use of statistics in our daily lives.
National Statistics Day 2021: Theme
The theme of National Statistics Day 2021, is ‘End Hunger, Achieve Food Security and Improved Nutrition and Promote Sustainable Agriculture (Sustainable Development Goal or SDG 2 of the UN). It aims to seek a sustainable solution to end hunger by 2030 and achieve food security.