The Indian Statistical Institute is a unique institution in many ways. It was set up in 1931 – when the independence of India was still sixteen years in the future – in the Statistical Laboratory of the Presidency College, at the initiative of Professor P. C. Mahalanobis. It was founded at a time when the subject of statistics had only just started to mature as a legitimate scientific discipline, and was still being viewed by many as a minor subsidiary of mathematics. Professor Mahalanobis was a pragmatic man, and even at that point of time he appears to have envisioned the tremendous future potential of this discipline, which is being realized even to this day. And it is because of his initiative that India, while still not a developed country by Western standards, has a very developed statistical system. Indeed the National Sample Survey Organisation was operated by the Indian Statistical Institute till the early 1970s, when the government took over its functions.

The small institute that was set up in 1931 is nearing its centenary today, and is recognized worldwide as a leading institution of learning in statistics and related areas. It has been recognized as an institution of national importance through the 1959 ISI Act. Its academic programs have managed to attract the brightest of students on one hand, and very talented young faculty on the other. It has also made significant contributions to the area of national development. Today, the institute grants undergraduate and postgraduate degrees in statistics, mathematics, quantitative economics, computer science and quality, reliability and operations research, as well as post graduate diplomas in many other related areas. However, the research programs of the institute are not restricted to these programs only. The Institute provides a home to many other vibrant groups of scientists in physical, biological and social sciences, who are engaged in active research and supervision of doctoral students.

Over the last decade and a half, we have seen that data-driven decision making is the need of the hour. Research, worldwide, is moving away from traditional areas and becoming more and more interdisciplinary. Appropriate statistical scrutiny and analysis, and suitable algorithmic verifications are becoming default requirements for any scientific endeavor leading to data generation. The Indian Statistical Institute has the relevant expertise to handle all these challenges. We expect that the institute will play an even greater role in dealing with these problems in the future.

 

Director's Report:

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