Statistics

ICTS prof Deepak Dhar awarded Dirac Medal for work on statistical mechanics

The International Centre for Theoretical Sciences on Monday said that its professor Deepak Dhar has been awarded the prestigious 2026 Dirac Medal, recognising his contributions to statistical mechanics and complex systems. Prof Dhar, who is an Indian National Science Academy (INSA) distinguished professor at ICTS, shares the honour with three other stalwarts of statistical mechanics -- Bernard Derrida, Marc Mezard and Haim Sompolinsky --, the Institute said in a post on its website. According to the ICTS, the award recognises the four scientists "for their pioneering contributions to equilibrium statistical mechanics and for extending its concepts and methods into non-equilibrium statistical mechanics, optimization problems, theoretical neuroscience, and, finally, artificial intelligence. The Dirac Medal is awarded annually by the International Centre for Theoretical Physics (ICTP) in honour of physicist Paul Dirac. ICTP Director Atish Dabholkar commented, "The work of the 2026 Dir

Panel asks Mospi to examine feasibility of statutory status for NSC again

The panel said Mospi had not provided a convincing justification for not examining statutory status for the NSC and stressed the need for statutory backing

Govt moves to end ISI's 94-yr society status, defends Bill amid backlash

The Centre says the proposed law will strengthen governance and expand academic opportunities at the Indian Statistical Institute, while faculty members warn it could erode institutional autonomy

India's renewable energy potential more than doubled in FY25: Mospi

The government says renewable energy potential rose to over 4.7 million MW in FY25, while total primary energy supply increased to 39,055 petajoules in 2024-25

Mospi pushes harmonised data ecosystem to power citizen-centric governance

Statistics Secretary Saurabh Garg says harmonising administrative data across departments will improve interoperability, AI-driven analytics and evidence-based policymaking

AI can turn data blind spots into false certainty, says P K Mishra

P K Mishra warns AI can reinforce data biases in official statistics, urging stronger safeguards, transparency, and institutional independence in data governance

A ChatGPT for Indian statistics? Mospi lays AI groundwork with new platform

The govt is building a common data platform to unify official economic statistics, with plans to develop it into an AI model that can answer queries using trusted official data

Saibal Chattopadhyay named chairperson of National Statistical Commission

Former IIM Calcutta director succeeds Rajeeva Laxman Karandikar as head of the apex body overseeing India's core statistical activities

Value dips as staff rises: The curious case of unincorporated manufacturing

Productivity per worker in small-scale manufacturing declines as firms hire more staff, according to a new government report

Datanomics: 3 in every 10 who died by suicide were daily wagers in 2024

India's suicide toll reached 1.7 lakh in 2024 despite a marginal dip from the previous year, with family distress and economic vulnerability emerging as major drivers

Datanomics: Delhi assembly breach renews focus on security safety gaps

Rising security breaches in legislatures spotlight gaps in policing strength, surveillance coverage, and infrastructure across India

Exclusive interview with former chief statistician of India, Pronab Sen | Double deflation

India’s new gross domestic product (GDP) series, with 2022-23 as the base year, has introduced major methodological changes — from double deflation to improved coverage of the informal sector

A statistical reset that strengthens GDP credibility under new series

Overall, the 2022-23 base revision represents a substantive statistical reset

India to focus on providing affordable compute capacity to all: MoSPI Secy

India is focusing on a model where the government, philanthropists and the private sector can collaborate to ensure that affordable computing capacities are accessible to all, Statistics Secretary Saurabh Garg said on Friday. Speaking at a session 'Building Public Interest AI: Catalytic Funding for Equitable Access to Compute Resources' at AI Impact Summit, Gard said, "The focus is not on rationing but on intelligent prioritising (of compute capacity access). I think that is going to be the focus that impute capacity is enabling platform". He said philanthropic organisations will have a large role to play, as their focus is on ensuring AI benefits for all. "So, with that focus in view, the government, philanthropic organisations and the private sector can collaborate to ensure that affordable computing capacities are accessible to all. I think that's the models that we are looking at and that will ensure experimentation going forward," he stated. Artificial intelligence (AI) will .

95% respondents unwilling to share income details in NSO pre-test

A pre-test for the national household income survey finds high non-responsiveness on income, tax, and asset details, raising concerns ahead of the 2026 rollout

US data experts unite to save public statistics amid political interference

The data nerds are fighting back. After watching data sets be altered or disappear from U.S. government websites in unprecedented ways after President Donald Trump began his second term, an army of outside statisticians, demographers and computer scientists have joined forces to capture, preserve and share data sets, sometimes clandestinely. Their goal is to make sure they are available in the future, believing that democracy suffers when policymakers don't have reliable data and that national statistics should be above partisan politics. There are such smart, passionate people who care deeply about not only the Census Bureau, but all the statistical agencies, and ensuring the integrity of the statistical system. And that gives me hope, even during these challenging times, Mary Jo Mitchell, director of government and public affairs for the research nonprofit the Population Association of America, said this week during an online public data-users conference. The threats to the U.S.

Govt needs more data access: NSC chairman Rajeeva Laxman Karandikar

With India's economy expanding rapidly and global investor interest growing, official figures are facing more scrutiny. Calls are mounting for more accurate economic data

MoSPI launches GoIStats app for easy access to official statistics

The National Sample Survey Office (NSO), under the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI), on Sunday launched the GoIStats mobile application, an all-encompassing data ecosystem for seamless access to official data. The application features an interactive "Key Trends" dashboard showcasing important socio-economic indicators with dynamic visualizations of critical metrics including GDP, inflation, employment data. Currently the android version of the mobile application is available free of charge on google play store. The iOS version will be released shortly, an official statement said. Advanced filtering and search capabilities with comprehensive metadata, and mobile-optimized data tables are also available for seamless viewing. In another statement, MOSPI said on the occasion of 19th Statistics Day, on June 29, it released publications on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). These publications are the National Indicator Framework Progress Report, 2025; Data

1 in 5 UPI users faced fraud; 51% victims didn't report, reveals survey

One in five UPI users in India faced fraud in the past 3 years, with 51% not filing complaints. A LocalCircles survey highlights growing risks and urges simplified, one-click reporting mechanisms

MoSPI sets up working group to prepare statistical business register

The proposed business register will be prepared using data from the economic census (EC), state specific databases and central databases