Bhubaneswar: The 18th National Statistics Day was celebrated at the Convention Centre of Lok Seva Bhawan, Bhubaneswar, honoring the birthday of eminent statistician Prof. P.C. Mahalanobis. The event, organized by the Directorate of Economics & Statistics (DE&S), Planning and Convergence Department, focused on this year’s theme, “Use of Data for Decision Making.”
Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi, in his message, urged officials to leverage technology for reliable statistics to enhance public welfare. He also announced the launch of the World Bank-assisted OSCRGPP program.
Anu Garg, Development Commissioner and Additional Chief Secretary, served as the Chief Guest, and Pravin Srivastava, former Chief Statistician of India and Chairman of the State Statistical Commission, Madhya Pradesh, was the Chief Speaker. They emphasized the critical role of data in decision-making and policy formulation.
The program commenced with tributes to Prof. P.C. Mahalanobis. Dr. Bijay Bhusan Nanda, Director of Economics & Statistics, highlighted the need for modernization and capacity building within the statistical system.
An audio-visual documentary showcased the activities of the DE&S, and the best-performing District Planning and Monitoring Units (Dhenkanal, Bhadrak, and Baudh) were felicitated for their achievements in 2023-24. The Directorate’s annual journal, “Samikshya,” and other statistical publications were also released.
In the technical session, Prof. Alok Kumar Mishra from the University of Hyderabad presented on “Statistics for Good Governance,” discussing how statistics underpin effective governance.