Toughest and most complex Ministry to understand is this Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI). So let's get it done in a single post clearly forever.
The Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) came into existence as an independent ministry in 1999 following the merger of the 1. Department of Statistics and the 2. Department of Programme Implementation.
Besides these wings, there is the A. National Statistical Commission, an autonomous body which formed on 12 July 2006 under the recommendation of Rangarajan commission. It was created through a resolution of Government of India. Established in 2026, it also functions under the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation of the Government of India.
Also under this Ministry one autonomous Institute, viz., B. the Indian Statistical Institute headquartered in Kolkata, India with centers in Chennai, Bengaluru, New Delhi and Tezpur. It was declared an Institute of National Importance by the Government of India under the Indian Statistical Institute Act, 1959. Established in 1931, it also functions under the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation of the Government of India. ISI's origin can be traced back to the Statistical Laboratory in Presidency College, Kolkata, set up by Mahalanobis, who worked in the Physics Department of the college in the 1920s. In 1931, Mahalonobis held a meeting with Pramatha Nath Banerji, Nikhil Ranjan Sen and Sir Rajendra Nath Mookerjee. This meeting led to the establishment of the Indian Statistical Institute (ISI).
Prasanta Chandra Mahalanobis was an Indian scientist and statistician. He is best remembered for the Mahalanobis distance, a statistical measure, and for being one of the members of the first economic Planning Commission of independent India. He made pioneering studies in anthropometry in India. He founded the Indian Statistical Institute, and contributed to the design of large-scale sample surveys. For his contributions, Mahalanobis has been considered the father of statistics in India. Since 2007, 29 June is celebrated as National Statistics Day in India to commemorate the birth anniversary of P.C. Mahalanobis and his contributions to statistical science and planning.
In later life, Mahalanobis was a member of the planning commission contributed prominently to newly independent India's five-year plans starting from the second. In the second five-year plan he emphasised industrialisation on the basis of a two-sector model. His variant of Wassily Leontief's Input-output model, the Mahalanobis model, was employed in the Second Five Year Plan, which worked towards the rapid industrialisation of India.
- The Department of Statistics consists of the: 1. National Statistical Office(NSO) 2. Computer Center
- The Department of Programme Implementation has two divisions, namely: 1. Infrastructure Monitoring and Project Monitoring(IPMD) 2. Member of Parliament Local Area Development Scheme(MPLADS).
Central Statistics Office (CSO) - created in 1951 under Cabinet Secretariat was finally merged with NSSO to make National Statistical Office (NSO) in 2019 under the department of statistics in MoSPI.
The National Sample Survey Office (NSSO) is a major public agency in India that gathers socioeconomic data. Formed in 1950, it works under the MoSPI. In 2019, it merged with the CSO - Central Statistics Office to form the National Statistical Office (NSO).
So Present Structure of MoSPI looks like this:
MoSPI - Has Two Departments
1. Department of Statistics - it has National Statistical Office(NSO) & Computer Center
2. Department of Programme Implementation - it has Infrastructure Monitoring and Project Monitoring(IPMD) & Member of Parliament Local Area Development Scheme(MPLADS).
MoSPI also has one autonomous Institute - Indian Statistical Institute headquartered in Kolkata.
MoSPI also has National Statistical Commission, an autonomous body which formed on 12 July 2006.
~ Abhinaw, IAS Corridor
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