National Statistics Day : Revolutionizing Data Analytics: The promising future of Statistics

Manish Sharma & Banti Kumar

National Statistics Day is observed in India on June 29th every year to commemorate the birth anniversary of Prasanta Chandra Mahalanobis (June 29,1893, in Calcutta) an eminent Indian statistician who made significant contributions to the field of statistics in India.It is a day dedicated to acknowledging the importance of statistics in policymaking, planning, and development. The celebration of National Statistics Day aims to create awareness and recognizes the contributions of statisticians and data scientists in generating accurate and reliable data for informed decision-making.He was instrumental in statistical theory, its applications to various fields, and research in the country. He established Indian Statistical Institute(ISI) in 1931, a premier institution for statistical research and education in India,. Mahalanobis also played a pivotal role in the formulation and implementation of second Five-year Plan(1956-1961). He was selected fellow of the Royal society in 1945 and also awarded by the Padma Vibhushan in 1968.

Mahalanobis is remembered as Indian father of statistics. National Statistics Day was first celebrated in 2007 in India announced by the government of India through the release of a proclamation in the Indian Gazette on 5 June 2007. In 2008, it is celebrated to remark the Homage to PC Mahalanobis and after that every year celebrated under the special theme listed as
The National Statistics Day are interconnected in their focus on data, statistics, and sustainable development in 2019. The Sustainable Development Goals are a set of 17 global goals adopted by the United Nations in 2015, aimed at addressing various social, economic, and environmental challenges to achieve sustainable development by 2030. The SDGs cover a wide range of issues, including poverty eradication, quality education, gender equality, clean energy, climate action, and more. It serves as a platform to raise awareness about the role of statistics in measuring SDG indicators, identifying data gaps, and improving data collection mechanisms to assess the progress made in achieving the SDGs and informs policymaking and decision-making processes. Now a days, we all are living in the era where excessive data is a shooting problem and to handle this major challenge one has to revolutionize the role of data analytic. A data analytic can solve this menace by optimizing data performance, its efficiency, suggest innovations strategically using algorithms. The amalgamation of statistics and machine learning methods can solve complicated problems. The integration of multiple data sources could provide analytical solutions by using their diverse skill sets and perspectives. This multi-disciplinary approach will provide statistical models that will improve the precision and fidelity of data analytics. But, there is a need to create techniques as to identify and reduce biases in data collection, modelling and decision-making processes. So, as to be more concern about privacy, fairness and grow openness. We have seen during the COVID 19 pandemic that how statistics and data analytics played a momentous role in understanding the transmission of the virus, tracking its impact, and making informed decisions to reduce its impact. The Arogyasetu app developed by Govt. of India, is one case of how statistics and data analytics can bring revolution during such hard times. Arogyasetu app was created to aid in the battle against Covid19 by providing contact tracing and health information. It gathered information from users such as their health conditions and location. By analyzing this data, health authorities might identify persons who were in close proximity for testing or self-quarantine thereby breaking the transmission chain. Further, the information obtained formed the basis for developing prediction models using statistics and data analytics. These models helped in anticipating the virus future spread, figuring out healthcare needs, and gauging the success of various medical interventions. This foresight improved policy decisions, resource planning, and the implementation of targeted pandemic measures. In conclusion, Statistics have a promising future in data analytics. Advances in statistical techniques, multidisciplinary partnerships, real-time analytics, ethical considerations, interpretability, personalization tools, etc, will transform the way we analyse data and derive conclusions from it. By accepting these advancements and implementing educated decision-making practices, organizations may fully exploit data analytics and make informed decisions that encourage innovation, efficiency, and long-term growth. We can say Data analytics is the soul of statistics. Improved statistical techniques are the need of an hour so as to deal with the huge amount of growing data every single second. The integration of statistics and emerging technologies like machine learning, artificial intelligence and deep learning are creating new opportunities in the field of data analytics.
Thus a small saplings of subject statistics once sown by Mahalaobis has grown into a gigantic tree after one hundred and thirty years by giving us delicious ripened fruits.
(The writers Manish Sharma is Professor, SKUAST Jammu and Banti Kumar is Assistant Professor, CSK HPKV).