Authentic data important for policies, says Pranab

He was speaking at the 48th convocation of Indian Statistical Institute

President Pranab Mukherjee, on Friday, said that the success of public policies depend on quality of data collected by government agencies and hence data standards are a pre-requisite.

The President added that staticians in their professional domains, should draw inferences with caution while analysing large data.

“The efficacy of our policies, especially in the social sector, hinges on the quality of data collected by different government agencies. Good policies call for good data standards. Great emphasis must therefore be laid on the authenticity of the information gathered so as to form the basis of policy intervention,” Mukherjee said addressing the 48th convocation of the Indian Statistical Institute, in Kolkata.Highlighting the use of Statistics and allied subjects by the corporate sector, the President said that analysis of data, including usage of social networking sites, footfalls in large retail stores, hits on websites and usage of credit cards, serve in understanding consumer behaviour, assessment of risk, detection of fradulent transactions and discovering  new customer segments.

Speaking to assembled statistics fraternity, Mukherjee observed that statistical models help in decisions but inferences need to made cautiously. “It is a fact that statistical models and techniques bestow great advantage to the user. However, it is prudent to also exercise due caution in analysing large data and drawing inferences,” the President said.

Mukherjee added that counter-terrorism programmes – like the National Intelligence Grid – and statistical systems for estimation and control of fake Indian currency notes, involve statistical techniques, while applauding the role being played by the Indian Statistical Institute in development of technologies and theories related to cryptology and information security.