Address by the Hon’ble President of India, Smt. Droupadi Murmu on the Occasion of Call on by the Probationers of Indian Statistical Service

First of all, I congratulate you all for your success in the prestigious examination conducted by the UPSC. You all have chosen public service as your career. You have got an opportunity to bring about change by playing leadership roles in your respective domains.

Dear officers

There is an apt saying – If you can’t measure it, you can’t manage it. Therefore, measurable and quantifiable dimensions are necessary for governance. Policy formulation and execution cannot be effective without the right statistical analysis. In this era of endless information and data flow, the role and importance of statistics has increased exponentially. When we talk about India’s rank in respect of any parameter, it is statistics. When we say, India is a country of young people or has high demographic dividend, it is on the basis of statistics that we say this. Also from statistical analysis, we proudly say that India is the fifth largest economy of the world.

The term ‘Sankhya’ has existed in India for thousands of years. Indian system has valued numbers as an important component of valid knowledge. I must also mention that numeracy being a strong feature of the Indian mind, most of the international competitions related to numeracy are won by Indian children.

Dear young officers

It is in this broad context that the significance of Indian Statistical Service may be understood. You have a key role in compiling official statistics at central level for use of government and non government entities.

I am sure that the training programme will enable you to perform your duties efficiently. I am told that various modules in your training cover wide range of areas including recently emerged fields of Data Mining, Big Data and Artificial Intelligence. Your job requires high proficiency in statistical methods, which you would use to provide solutions to data and information needs of the country.

Dear probationers

India is at the cusp of a new phase of socio-economic transformation. Increased penetration of digital technologies has brought transparency and efficiency in the government functioning and has transformed the e-government landscape. The flow of data through these initiatives provides support to the government in taking effective decisions.

As we know, many important macro-economic indicators and other significant data are released by different divisions of Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation. During your service years, you all will be holding senior positions and would provide technical leadership in respective domains of official statistics.

Dear officers

Do your duty with sincerity and commitment. Your contribution in steering India towards greater progress and development is going to be huge. The information and data analysis that you provide will be instrumental in making and implementing policies which ensure that no one is left behind in the journey of development.

I am also delighted to know that lady officers comprise over 40 percent of the officers present here. More women at senior positions and in leadership roles will definitely strengthen India’s resolve for inclusive development.

My best wishes to you all for a fulfilling career and a bright future.

Thank you! 
Jai Hind!