New Delhi, Oct 7 (PTI) The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Finance has invited views and suggestions from experts, organisations and other stakeholders on the Indian Statistical Institute Bill, 2026, as part of its mandate for wider consultations.
The bill, introduced in Lok Sabha on August 3, seeks to widen the remit of the Indian Statistical Institute and align its legal framework with evolving needs. The proposed legislation was later referred to the House panel for wider consultations and giving suggestions.
“Parliamentary Standing Committee on Finance headed by Bhartruhari Mahtab has decided to invite views and suggestions on the Indian Statistical Institute Bill, 2026 from associations, organisations, stakeholders, experts,” the Lok Sabha secretariat said on X.
The Indian Statistical Institute Bill, 2026, seeks the institute’s incorporation as a ‘body corporate’ to strengthen its governance, promote academic excellence and research and allow it to serve the emerging needs in the field of statistics and allied fields.
The bill provides for the President of India to be the Visitor of the institute and proposes a Board of Governors as its principal policy executive body.
The board will be headed by the chairperson, who will be an eminent person from the field of academia, industry, education, public policy, and statistical sciences. It will be accountable to the central government, the bill notes.
The institute will have an Academic Council as its principal academic body, headed by its director. All full-time professors and faculty will be members of the Academic Council.
The Indian Statistical Institute Act, 1959, declared the institute to be an institution of national importance and empowered it to grant degrees and diplomas in statistics.
The Act was amended in 1995 to empower the Institute to grant degrees and diplomas in statistics, mathematics, quantitative economics, computer science and such other subjects related to statistics as may be determined by it from time to time.
According to the bill, the 1959 Act has limited provisions in respect of the governance, administration, finance, accountability and functioning of the Institute and is not adequate to enable it to respond to the requirements of an evolving academic and research environment.
The government has therefore decided to repeal the Indian Statistical Institute Act, 1959, and introduce comprehensive legislation providing for the incorporation of the Indian Statistical Institute, an institution of national importance, to excel as a globally recognised centre in Statistical Sciences and allied fields, the bill says.
The proposed legal reform will help create an ecosystem to train a new generation of high-quality data scientists and statisticians, bridging the massive talent gap currently facing India’s tech and financial sectors, according to the bill. PTI ACB RHL
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