News: More than 1,500 academics are protesting the draft ISI Bill, 2025, which seeks to repeal the Indian Statistical Institute Act, 1959.
About Indian Statistical Institute (ISI)
- The Indian Statistical Institute is a national institution for statistics and related fields.
- Founded by: It was founded by Professor Prasanta Chandra Mahalanobis in 1931.
- Established as: It was established as a society under the Societies Registration Act.
- Nodal ministry: Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI)
- Headquarters: Its headquarters is in Kolkata with centres in Delhi, Bengaluru, Chennai, and Tezpur.
- Institution of National Importance: It was declared an Institution of National Importance through the Indian Statistical Institute Act, 1959.
- Aim: Its aim is to advance statistical research and provide academic training supporting national planning.
- Function: Its functions include research and training in statistics and related fields and conducting academic programmes.
- Governing structure
- The highest decision-making body is a 33-member Council.
- The Council includes elected members and government representatives.
- The Director is appointed by the Council, and the institute has substantial autonomy in academics and administration.
About Indian Statistical Institute Bill, 2025
- Change in Status: The Bill aims to convert the ISI from its current status as a registered society into a statutory body corporate, aligning its legal and governance framework with other “Institutes of National Importance” like the IITs and IIMs.
- New Governing Body:
- It proposes the creation of an 11-member Board of Governance (BoG) as the principal executive body, which would replace the current 33-member council.
- The BoG would be largely composed of Central Government nominees.
- Visitor’s Role: The President of India would become the Visitor of the institute, with powers to order inquiries, review the institute’s work, and remove the Director.
- Academic Council’s Role: The existing Academic Council, which currently has the final say in academic matters, would become an advisory body, with its recommendations subject to approval, modification, or rejection by the BoG.
