New Delhi: The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) has approved the appointment of a new Chairperson and three Members of the National Statistical Commission (NSC), the apex advisory body responsible for guiding and strengthening India’s statistical system.
The newly constituted Commission will be headed by Dr Saibal Chattopadhyay, former Director of the Indian Institute of Management (IIM), Calcutta. Along with him, Prof. Shubhabrata Das, Shri Satyendra Bahadur Singh, and Dr Madhavan Mukund have been appointed as Members of the Commission.
The appointments were announced by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) on Wednesday.
National Statistical Commission: India’s Apex Statistical Advisory Body
The National Statistical Commission was established in 2005 to serve as the nodal body for core statistical activities in the country.
The Commission plays a crucial role in:
- Formulating national statistical priorities
- Monitoring and enforcing statistical standards
- Ensuring coordination among various statistical agencies
- Enhancing public trust in official statistics
- Improving quality and integrity of statistical products
The NSC consists of:
- One part-time Chairperson
- Four part-time Members with expertise in statistics and related fields
- CEO of NITI Aayog as an ex-officio Member
The Secretary of MoSPI serves as the Secretary to the Commission.
Dr Saibal Chattopadhyay Appointed Chairperson
Dr Saibal Chattopadhyay brings decades of academic and statistical expertise to the position.
A former Director of the prestigious Indian Institute of Management Calcutta, he holds:
- Ph.D. in Statistics from the University of Connecticut, USA
- MS in Statistics from the University of Connecticut
- MSc and BSc in Statistics from Calcutta University
Areas of Expertise
His research and professional work spans:
- Sequential methods in estimation
- Selection and ranking problems
- Survey sampling
- Finite population inference
- Multi-stage sampling methods
- Environmental health studies
- Clinical studies
- Advanced marketing research techniques
His appointment is expected to strengthen the Commission’s academic and methodological foundations.
Prof. Shubhabrata Das Named Member
Prof. Shubhabrata Das currently serves as a Professor at the Indian Institute of Management Bangalore.
His academic credentials include:
- Ph.D. in Statistics from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
- MS in Statistics from UNC
- M.Stat and B.Stat from the Indian Statistical Institute (ISI), Kolkata
Specialisation Areas
Prof. Das has expertise in:
- Statistics
- Operational Research
- Actuarial Mathematics
- Fuzzy Data Analysis
- Measurement and Scaling
- Management Applications
- Social and Environmental Data Analytics
His experience is expected to contribute significantly to modern statistical methodologies and policy-oriented data analysis.
Veteran ISS Officer Satyendra Bahadur Singh Joins Commission
Shri Satyendra Bahadur Singh is a retired officer of the Indian Statistical Service (ISS), 1987 batch.
With over three decades of experience in the Government of India, he has worked extensively in:
- Official Statistics
- Economic Statistics
- Labour and Employment Statistics
- Policy Support
- Capacity Building and Training
- Public Administration
His practical experience in government statistical systems is likely to enhance institutional coordination and implementation mechanisms within the Commission.
Chennai Mathematical Institute Director Dr Madhavan Mukund Appointed Member
The ACC has also appointed Dr Madhavan Mukund, Director of the Chennai Mathematical Institute (CMI), as a Member of the NSC.
Dr Mukund holds:
- Ph.D. in Computer Science from Aarhus University, Denmark
- B.Tech in Computer Science and Engineering from IIT Bombay
Recognised as a distinguished academic in computer science and mathematics, his inclusion reflects the growing role of data science, computational methods and digital technologies in modern statistical systems.
Key Responsibilities of the National Statistical Commission
The NSC is entrusted with several critical functions aimed at improving the quality and credibility of India’s official statistics.
Policy Formulation and Standards
The Commission is responsible for:
- Evolving national statistical policies
- Setting statistical priorities
- Developing standard definitions and classifications
- Recommending statistical methodologies
Quality Assurance and Public Trust
The Commission also:
- Lays down national quality standards for core statistics
- Recommends measures to improve public confidence in official data
- Conducts statistical audits to ensure data integrity
Coordination Across Governments
A major responsibility of the NSC is to strengthen coordination:
- Between the Centre and States
- Among Union Territories
- Across ministries and departments
- Between various government statistical agencies
Monitoring and Performance Review
The Commission continuously reviews the functioning of the country’s statistical system and recommends improvements for better efficiency, transparency and reliability.
Strengthening India’s Statistical Ecosystem
The appointment of distinguished experts from academia, government statistics and research institutions comes at a time when reliable data and evidence-based policymaking are becoming increasingly important for governance and economic planning.
The newly appointed leadership is expected to play a pivotal role in enhancing India’s statistical infrastructure, strengthening official data systems and ensuring that national statistics remain credible, transparent and globally comparable.
