The Government of India has been celebrating the National Statistics Day every year on 29 June. The day is celebrated on the birth anniversary of Late Professor P C Mahalanobis and is an acknowledgement of his contributions to National Statistics System.
The day is also celebrated to popularize and spread awareness among the masses about the importance of Statistics in daily life. It also emphasizes on the importance of statistics in formulation of national policies.
National Statistics Day 2021: Theme
A theme is decided every year for National Statistics Day. It is usually about topics of national importance. The main objective is to to spread awareness about the significance of that topic/ theme.
The theme for this year's National Statistics Day is Sustainable Development Goal (SDG)- 2 (End Hunger, Achieve Food Security and Improved Nutrition and Promote Sustainable Agriculture). It is an issues of national importance. Therefore, the government has chosen it as the theme of National Statistics Day 2021.
According to United Nations, the primary target of SDG Goal-2 is to "end hunger and ensure access by all people, in particular the poor and people in vulnerable situations, including infants, to safe, nutritious and sufficient food all year round," by 2030.
National Statistics Day: Significance
As mentioned above, the National Statistics Day marks the birth anniversary of Indian statistician Prasanta Chandra Mahalanobis. He was one of the first members of Planning Commission of India and is popular for his key contribution "Mahalanobis distance". The formula is used to find the distance between a point and a distribution, based on measurements in multiple dimensions. He was also popularly known as the "father of Indian statistics."
He had established National Sample Survey in 1950 and was also the founder of Indian Statistical Institute. His contributions to the world of Statistics, are celebrated on this day.
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