Barman to head National Statistical Commission

Eminent statistician Radha Binod Barman took over as the chairperson of the National Statistical Commission (NSC) on Wednesday, an official statement said.

The commission is an advisory body on all statistical matters, set up to enhance public trust in official statistics. The post was lying vacant as Pronab Sen's term as NSC chairman had ended on February 2 this year.

Barman, former executive director, Reserve Bank of India, has joined NSC at a time when many analysts have expressed doubts over the methodology of new gross domestic product (GDP) numbers.

He spearheaded the Business Intelligence (BI) initiative of the central bank. The initiative launched in 2001 was one of the earliest such initiatives, and was considered a model for many central banks in BI space.

He has been a consultant on BI for premier Indian institutions.

He contributed richly in the area of official statistics, particularly on price and output statistics.

As an econometrician, he honed skills in modelling and forecasting. The chief executive officer, NITI Aayog, currently Amitabh Kant, is the ex-officio member in the commission.