Who is Professor Prasanta Chandra Mahalanobis and Why is He Called the Father of Modern Statistics in India?

Table of Content:

• FAQ About National Statistics Day
• The theme of National Statistics Day
• Who is Prof. Prasanta Chandra Mahalanobis and What Honors Has He Received?
• What is Statistics and Its Uses?

• Popularize the use of statistics in everyday life and raise public awareness about how statistics may assist shape and framing policy.
• To enhance public knowledge of the use of statistics in socio-economic planning, particularly among the younger generation.

• The theme of National Statistics Day 2022: Data for Sustainable Development
• The theme of National Statistics Day 2021: SDG 2 - "End Hunger, Achieve Food Security and Improved Nutrition and Promote Sustainable Agriculture"
• The theme of National Statistics Day 2020: India’s Perspective on achieving SDG 3, SDG 5 and efforts to contain COVID-19
• The theme of National Statistics Day 2019: Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
• The theme of National Statistics Day 2014: Service Sector Statistics
• The theme of National Statistics Day 2011: Gender Statistics

• On June 29, 1893, Prasanta Chandra Mahalanobis was born in Calcutta to an affluent Bengali family with an academic bent.
• He earned a bachelor's degree in physics before continuing his education in London. He finished his physics Tripos and realized the power of statistics in anthropology and meteorology.
• For the first time in 1930, he proposed the Mahalanobis Distance, a metric for comparing two sets of data. The formula is used to calculate the distance between a point and a distribution using multiple-dimensional observations. In cluster analysis and classification, it is commonly employed.
• In 1931-32, he established the Indian Statistics Institute in Kolkata, which was designated as a national institution in 1959.
• The Indian Journal of Statistics, Sankhya, was launched by him in 1933.
• To coordinate Statistics work, the National Sample Survey was established, as was the Central Statistics Organization in 1950.
• In 1955, he was appointed to the Planning Commission, where he served until 1967. He was a key figure in the drafting of India's second five-year plan, which provided the groundwork for the country's industrialization and development from 1956 to 1961.

• The Indian Academy of Sciences has named him a fellow (FASc, 1935)
• The Indian Academy of Sciences has named him a fellow (FASc, 1935)
• Civil Division Officer of the Order of the British Empire, 1942 List of New Year's Honours
• The University of Oxford's Weldon Memorial Prize (1944)
• London's Royal Society has named him a Fellow (1945)
• Indian Science Congress President (1950)
• Fellow of the Econometric Society in the United States (1951)
• The Pakistan Statistics Association has named him a Fellow (1952)
• The Royal Statistics Society has named him an Honorary Fellow (1954)
• Sir Deviprasad Sarvadhikari Gold Medal (1957)
• Foreign Member of the USSR Academy of Sciences (1958)
• King's College, Cambridge, has made him an Honorary Fellow (1959)
• The American Statistics Association has appointed him as a fellow (1961)
• Durgaprasad Khaitan Gold Medal (1961)
• Visva Bharati University's Desikottam (1961)
• Padma Vibhushan (1968)
• Srinivasa Ramanujan Gold medal (1968)
• In India, a stamp commemorating Mahalanobis was issued in 1993.
• In 2006, India's government declared his birthday, June 29, to be "National Statistics Day."
• On the occasion of his 125th birthday, Indian Vice-President M Venkaiah Naidu distributed a commemorative coin during an Indian Statistics Institute event in Kolkata on June 29, 2018.

• Weather forecasts are critical for observing patterns and developing prediction models. Computers include statistics functions that can be used to compare previously recorded seasons and weather.
• We may build enhanced emergency preparedness by relying on accurate predictions about natural disasters generated by scientists using statistics.
• It assists governments in making decisions concerning health, population, education, and other topics. It is the primary tool for compiling data or conducting a population census in order to make informed decisions.
• It assists governments in making decisions concerning health, population, education, and other topics. It is the primary tool for compiling data or conducting a population census in order to make informed decisions.
• The graph aids statisticians in making future plans and forecasts based on previous events or information. Internal and external elements that may affect the future are considered while making forecasts.
• Bell curves, graphs, and probability are among the statistical tools used in business analysis. These are used to keep track of personnel, employees, or items, as well as customer support. The company's future objectives are determined solely based on these figures.
• Interpretation, explanation, and data collection are just a few of the areas where they help in research. It can aid researchers in summarizing and describing their findings.
• It is unavoidable in political campaigns since it assists politicians in predicting where they can win an election in a certain area. It aids in determining the number of supporters or candidates.
• Stock prices are calculated using statistics, and investors make judgments based on their findings. It guides investors in making stock investment selections and supports corporations in managing their finances so that they can pursue long-term goals.
• It is critical for any business to test the product's quality in order to determine the true sales and profit generated from the money spent.