Mahalanobis's Institute Gets a New Charter: The ISI Bill and Who Owns India's Statistical Capacity
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Article summary
The Indian Statistical Institute Bill, 2026 was introduced in the Lok Sabha on 3 August 2026 by the Minister of State for Statistics and Programme Implementation, Rao Inderjit Singh. It seeks to incorporate the Institute as a body corporate, strengthening its governance, promoting academic excellence and research, and equipping it to serve emerging needs in statistical science. Under the Bill the President of India will be the Visitor of the Institute, and a Board of Governors will function as its principal policy executive body, headed by a chairperson drawn from academia, industry, education, public policy or the statistical sciences. Founded by P.C. Mahalanobis in Kolkata in 1931 and declared an institution of national importance by the Indian Statistical Institute Act, 1959, the ISI developed the large-scale sample survey methods that underpin India's official statistics and shaped the Second Five Year Plan.
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Sample questions — answers revealed after test
Q1. P.C. Mahalanobis is associated with which of the following?
Q2. The National Statistical Commission, which advises on India's official statistics, is:
Q3. Consider the following statements: 1. The Indian Statistical Institute Act, 1959 declared the ISI an institution of national importance with degree-granting powers. 2. Incorporation as a body corporate confers perpetual succession and the capacity to hold property and contract in the institution's own name. 3. A statistical agency requires no greater insulation from executive influence than an ordinary technical institute. Which of the statements given above are correct?