Mahalanobis’ legacy: India’s statistical prowess continues to grow

Men who Matter

Ravneet Kaur

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, Updated At : 08:06 PM Sep 03, 2025 IST

On 29 June 2025, India observed the 19th National Statistics Day, coinciding with the 132nd birth anniversary of Prof PC Mahalanobis. The theme this year was “75 Years of National Sample Survey (NSS)”, celebrating India’s pioneering journey in evidence-based policymaking.

Why Statistics Day?

• Honours Prof Prasanta Chandra Mahalanobis (1893-1972), hailed as the Father of Indian Statistics.

• Objective: To sensitise youth about how statistics guide policy, planning and governance.

• 2025 focus: NSS @75 → A tribute to the household survey system launched in 1950, which transformed planning by giving real-time socio-economic data.

Prof PC Mahalanobis – The statistician who shaped India

• Institution builder: Founded the Indian Statistical Institute (ISI), Kolkata (1931).

• Mahalanobis distance (1936): A path-breaking statistical tool to identify outliers in multivariate data → still widely used in data science & AI today.

• National Sample Survey (1950): India’s first systematic household survey, setting global benchmarks in official statistics.

• Journal ‘Sankhyā’ (1933): Gave India its own international-level statistical research platform.

• Flood management studies: Applied statistical methods for Bengal-Odisha floods, saving resources by preventing unscientific infrastructure investments.

• Economic planner: Brain behind the Second Five-Year Plan (1956-61) → introduced the Mahalanobis Model of industrialisation.

Mahalanobis theory/model

What is it?

• Also called the Mahalanobis Growth Model (1953), it was the guiding framework for India’s Second Five-Year Plan.

• Core idea: “Rapid industrialisation led by heavy industries is the fastest way to long-term economic growth.”

Key features

1. Heavy industry first strategy: Prioritised investment in steel, power, machinery and capital goods.

2. Two-sector model:

• Investment Goods Sector (machines, capital, infrastructure).

• Consumer Goods Sector (daily needs, consumption items).

→ Belief: Strong capital goods base would later boost consumer goods production.

3. Self-reliance goal: Reduce dependence on foreign imports, create indigenous industrial base.

4. Statistical planning: Relied on mathematical models, input-output analysis, and survey data (NSS).

Achievements

• Laid foundation of India’s public sector industries (steel plants, power projects).

• Advanced data-driven economic planning.

• Positioned India as a global pioneer in statistical survey techniques.

Limitations

• Neglected agriculture and small-scale industries, leading to food shortages.

• Capital-intensive approach → slow employment generation (criticism by economists like Vakil-Brahmananda).

• High import needs for technology and machinery → foreign exchange crunch.

UPSC pointers

• Father of Indian Statistics → PC Mahalanobis.

• Statistics Day → 29 June (birth anniversary).

• 2025 theme → 75 Years of National Sample Survey.

• Mahalanobis Distance (1936) → Statistical tool for identifying outliers.

• Mahalanobis Model → Basis of 2nd Five-Year Plan, heavy-industry strategy.

One-liner for Mains answers:

“Mahalanobis provided India not just a statistical framework but a vision of planned industrial growth, balancing numbers with nation-building.”