NEW DELHI: Principal Secretary to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Dr PK Mishra, on Monday said India's journey towards Viksit Bharat must be driven by reliable and credible data, with data-based decision-making shaping future governance.
Speaking at the 20th Statistics Day celebrations, Dr Mishra congratulated the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) on releasing its Vision Document 2026-31, the Sustainable Development Goals Progress Report and the first city-level estimates of labour markets and informal enterprises.
Highlighting India's statistical legacy, he said the country built one of the world's most respected survey-based statistical systems in the 1950s. Referring to Professor PC Mahalanobis, he said, “The visionary contributions of Professor PC Mahalanobis, who founded the Indian Statistical Institute and the journal Sankhya laid the foundation for modern statistical science in India and his ideas informed the second five-year plan”.
Dr Mishra also paid tribute to eminent statisticians, including Professor CR Rao and Professor PV Sukhatme.
He said India's statistical system had faced challenges, including outdated datasets, delays in data dissemination, fragmented systems, inconsistent data quality and declining professional capacity.
“These concerns prompted a comprehensive reform exercise led by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) through extensive consultations with experts, key institutions and stakeholders. Based on these deliberations, MoSPI accepted 216 recommendations for time-bound implementation under an institutional oversight mechanism”, he said.
Dr Mishra said the reforms introduced new user-oriented surveys, updated macroeconomic indicators, improved data dissemination and strengthened the country's statistical system.
Highlighting India's digital transformation, he said, “Administrative data should be treated as a strategic national asset, enabling better programme design, targeted service delivery and timely decision-making.”
He stressed the need for greater coordination among Central ministries, departments, states and Union Territories to build integrated data ecosystems while maintaining privacy, security and confidentiality.
“The adoption of administrative data represents an expansion of the country's longstanding commitment to inclusive, evidence-based governance”, he said.
Dr Mishra said governance must increasingly rely on data-driven decision-making and stressed the need to maintain trust, independence and rigour while developing AI-ready datasets.
“Administrative data can become a powerful national asset only when backed by robust standards of quality, privacy and transparency, the need to preserve the credibility and independence of official statistics while embracing new data sources”, he underscored.
Concluding his address, Dr Mishra said reliable data would be the foundation of Viksit Bharat, ensuring every citizen is counted and no one is left behind. He also felicitated Professor Arup Bose on receiving the Sukhatme National Award.